Unpaved Roads
by deanstheman
Summary: Right place, wrong time … every time. This is a love story spanning almost twenty years. Of course, it's a SUPERNATURAL love story so it has death and blood and monsters and all that gory fun too … Dean/OFC  pre-series to S6, more summary inside
1. PART 1  Chapter 1

**Summary**: Dean and Melanie's paths kept leading them back to one another but there always seemed to be something in their way. Monsters, secrets, family, demon deals, even blondes … always something. This is the story of the five times their lives intersected. Was it just coincidence each of these meetings occurred at a time of great loss, pain, or hardship? Or was fate simply steering them towards one another when they needed each other the most?

Set pre-series right up to season six so spoilers for all. Mostly cannon. Usually the Dean and Sam servings are close to even in my multi-chaps but this one is definitely more Dean. Also some Adam, Cas, and Bobby thrown in there.

_**A/N**__: This is a romance – though definitely NOT a cheerful, sappy, or particularly romantic one (after all, this IS Supernatural, not some Katherine Heigl rom-com). It's not my usual style - usually I avoid writing in an OC's POV so that the story stays focused on the Winchesters but for this one, I decided to let the OC in this one have a little bit bigger role so I'll be switching back and forth as the story dictates. I hope you like it!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own anything – I just love the show. All for fun._

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**PART ONE: **

_**December 1991**_

It was two weeks before Christmas when John Winchester left this time. He told Dean he'd be back before the big day, promised him that he wouldn't disappoint Sam. Dean knew every time his father walked out that door he was going to fight monsters - a real life superhero – but that he'd always be back because he was John Winchester, the toughest man on the planet. It meant a lot to Dean that his dad knew he could 'hold down the fort' while he was gone, that he could keep Sam safe. Dean was a still month shy of his twelfth birthday and he was proud of the trust his father laid in him and was determined to never let him down.

Even if that meant he couldn't hang out at the arcade with the local kids. Or that he would be eating Alphagetti for supper every night. Or that he had to sleep with a loaded .45 under his pillow.

Even if.

He shivered and pulled his thin jean jacket collar up around his neck as he carried the modest bag of groceries back to the motel room he and Sam were currently calling home in Butterfield, Minnesota. He had taken longer than he had wanted to at the gas station store, held up by the old lady in front of him arguing with the teller over the price of frigging prune juice, and it was now dark. Anxious to get back to Sammy, he ignored both his gut and his dad's teachings and decided to cut through an alley that came out at the back of the motel.

He regretted his decision about half way down when he heard a ruckus from the far side of a large dumpster up ahead. He stopped in his tracks when two men appeared, one of them yelling and tugging at something behind the dumpster. For an instant Dean debated turning around and high-tailing it back the other way. It was the appearance of the third person that changed his mind.

A small figure in a hoodie suddenly appeared, trying to wrestle a small backpack out of the larger man's hands. "Let go!" a child's voice shrieked. "It's mine!"

The man snarled and shot a fist forward, landing it hard on the kid's shoulder. The kid tumbled to the ground but never let go of the pack and the man drew his foot back in preparation to kick.

"Hey!" Dean yelled instinctively, still standing frozen with the paper grocery bag in his arms forty feet away.

Both men looked up sharply and, upon seeing Dean, turned back towards their prey, one jeering while the other planted that kick in the downed kid's side. A sharp scream of pain rang out but the little hands didn't let go of the bag. The man kicked the figure again and growled a stream of curse words, lifting the kid into the air as he tugged and tugged at the backpack. The second man stood back laughing.

Dean finally willed his muscles to move and dropped the groceries, flinching as the cans clattered loudly on the ground. His hands were shaking as he reached in his jacket and curled his fingers around the .45 he had tucked in there. His dad always told him to leave it hidden in the room but this neighborhood was even worse than their usual and he had decided at the last moment to take it with him. He moved forward, clicking off the safety as he walked.

"Hey Mister!" he yelled, though his voice came out raspy and hoarse and not nearly as loud as he had intended.

Neither man even acknowledged him and a hard punch was dealt to the kid on the ground still clutching onto the handle straps. The next punch was dodged, somehow, and Dean saw a small boot shoot upwards and land squarely in the guy's crotch. The man released the bag as he doubled over, howling in pain.

"You little bitch!" he spat.

"Hey!" Dean repeated, much louder this time. He was striding quickly forward now, gun held outstretched in both hands in front of him and his heart pounding in his chest.

The first guy didn't even glance his way but instead lunged forward and kicked the kid in the stomach. Dean watched the poor kid curl in on himself, or maybe that was _her_self, he realized with a start. Luckily for her, the second man noticed him approaching.

"Woah!" the guy exclaimed, tapping his friend to get his attention off their helpless victim and instead at the boy with the gun advancing quickly.

Another booted foot struck the kid and Dean felt anger boiling up inside him, overriding his fear.

"Back off!" he shouted when he got close, planting his feet solidly on the ground and raising the gun to shoulder level. He couldn't help but notice the barrel was trembling and he made an extra effort to keep his hands still.

Finally the second man noticed him also. His eyes widened at the sight of the gun and he stepped back quickly. "What the Hell?" he stammered.

"Get out of here." Dean was heartened by the fear he was now seeing in the men's eyes and this time his voice held strong. He jerked the .45 at them. "I said get lost."

"Frigging Bud Bundy with a gun," the man who had been doing the kicking sneered, though his demeanour was unmistakably jittery and he was now slowly backing away, his friend tugging on his sleeve to speed him up.

Dean held the gun steady and the two moved away, keeping their eyes trained on him until they reached the mouth of the alley. "Better watch it, kid," one guy threatened with a snarl, jabbing his index finger at Dean before they both disappeared around the corner.

Dean let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he was holding and glanced down at the kid on the ground, who was curled up in a ball coughing and wheezing, one small hand still clutching the backpack strap. "You okay?" he asked hesitantly.

The kid struggled to get into the seated position and Dean watched as the hood of the dirty sweater dropped to shoulder level to reveal long, straight brown hair and decidedly delicate features_. Yep, definitely a girl._ She made it to her knees, still clutching the back pack, and looked up at Dean, sharp blue eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"You okay?" he repeated. She wasn't much bigger than Sammy, probably not much older either, and he could tell her clothes and face were filthy even in the dim light of the alley. When she just stared at him with a silent look of fear, he realized he was still holding the big gun out in front of him. He dropped it quickly, flicking the safety back on and tucking it back inside his jeans as he had seen his father do a few times when the hunter didn't know he had an audience.

He stepped forward and extended his hand slowly towards her. "I'm Dean," he said simply.

She reached out gingerly and wrapped her cold fingers around his, accepting his help to her feet, though she was clearly in some pain. "I'm Mellie," she whispered, never keeping eye contact with him for more than a second at a time. He could tell the tears had broken loose for there were now wet streaks down her cheeks.

"You're safe now," Dean assured her, growing bolder with the sudden realization that he had just saved somebody. He too, was a hero. _Just like his dad. _"You, uh ... can you walk?"

She nodded.

"You live around here?" he asked, not sure what to do with her now that the threat was gone and the adrenaline rush was subsiding.

She just shrugged.

_What was that supposed to mean?_ "Can I walk you home or something?" he offered.

"I don't have a home," she blurted, shaking her head.

"What do you mean you don't have a home? You staying in the motel?"

Another shake of the head. "No. I didn't have enough money."

"What about your parents? You got parents don't ya? We can call your Mom or Dad to come get you."

Even at not-quite-twelve, Dean was able to recognize terror when he saw it. She clutched her pack more tightly in front of her and shook her head. "No," she said adamantly. "I'll just stay here."

"Here?" Dean glanced around him at the piles of cardboard and garbage next to the dumpster and grew alarmed. "In the alley? Were you planning on sleeping here?"

She nodded. "Please don't call my dad," she whispered.

"Why not?"

"Coz I can't go back there. Please don't make me go back there."

The young boy frowned. "You'd rather stay in the alley and get beat up than go home?" he asked, incredulously.

She nodded again.

Dean swallowed. It was winter and cold out, especially at nights. "Listen," he said finally, his voice softening. "I'm staying in the motel right there. Why don't you come stay with me and my brother for the night?" He knew it broke every rule in John Winchester's book but he couldn't leave this girl out here in the alley and something told him her home life was a helluva lot worse than his.

"No," she shook her head again. "Your parents will call my dad. My dad's drunk. He's always drunk and he'll be mad that I ran away. _**So**_ mad."

"My dad's out of town for a few days," Dean assured her, a rush of gratitude hitting him that he had a cool dad and not a dickwad like Mellie's must be. "It's just me and my little brother."

She didn't look convinced and jerked back slightly when he moved his hand forward. Even that small motion on her part made her wince and she hunched over slightly in obvious pain, an involuntary whimper escaping her lips.

"Don't be scared," Dean said reassuringly. "I'm not gonna hurt you and I'm not gonna rat you out. You're hurt and you should come get cleaned up. I fix my dad all the time when he gets hurt. I know what I'm doing. You'll be fine, I promise."

He reached forward again and took her hand, tugging it gently. He felt a little uncomfortable at the tears now streaming freely down her face but didn't let it show. "Come on," he urged. "We gotta go before those guys come back."

That seemed to work for she took a few stiff steps forward with him before her grip on his hand tightened and she sped up to walk beside him, pressing against his arm. He smiled and led her towards the motel, slowing at the mouth of the alley to peer around the corner for any signs of the two men. When he saw the coast was clear he walked her across the motel parking lot towards room number seven.

"So what's in the bag?" he asked curiously when they got near.

She shrugged. "Nothing. Just some clothes and a bit of sandwich."

His eyebrows shot up. "Why were you fighting those guys so hard for it then?" he demanded. "Why didn't you just give it to them?"

She frowned at him. "Coz it's mine and they had no right to take it," was her matter-of-fact reply.

Dean couldn't help but laugh. "Good for you, Mellie," he said admiringly, dropping her hand quickly as they stepped up to the door. No way was he gonna let Sammy see him holding hands with a girl.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Mellie's spare clothes were filthy also so Dean gave her some of Sam's and she disappeared into the bathroom. Upon introduction, Sam had asked a million questions as usual and Dean had to tell him the story of his alleyway rescue three times while she was in there, each re-telling describing the men as bigger and rougher than the last and Dean more and more the brazen hero.

"You know Dad's gonna kill you when he finds out you told her she could stay here," Sam warned him.

"Dad's not here and if you keep your big trap shut, he'll never know," Dean retorted. "Besides, it's just for one night."

Mellie finally emerged from the bathroom looking a lot cleaner. Sam's clothes were a fairly good fit, if just a little snug. She sat down on the end of the couch and gave them both a shy smile.

"You okay?" Dean asked for the third time since they had met. She had taken a number of kicks from that guy in the alley and he knew she must be sporting some serious bruises, maybe even cracked ribs. She didn't seem to be bleeding though and her pupils weren't overly dilated so, according to his dad's hurt scale, Dean didn't need to worry.

"Fine, thanks," she said politley.

"What's for supper?" Sam blurted, directing the question at his big brother.

Dean's face fell as he realized he had forgotten the Alphagetti in the alley. "We got any cereal left?" he asked sheepishly.

Sam groaned. "Yeah but we don't have any milk."

"Then we eat it without milk, Doofus" Dean groused. "I'll go get some more food tomorrow." He turned to Mellie. "You hungry? You like Cocoa Puffs?"

Her face brightened. "I love Cocoa Puffs. And I don't need any milk."

Dean shot Sam a smug smirk and grabbed three bowls from the small cupboard in the kitchenette along with the box of cereal. He sat himself down on the other end of the couch from Mellie and a minute later, Sam squeezed himself in between them, taking the bowl his brother offered him with a sigh. Dean started channel surfing and after a few minutes, the three children were laughing at a guy getting cracked in the nuts on America's Funniest Home Videos, the ordeal from the alley all but forgotten.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

One day turned into two, two turned into three and a week later Mellie was still with the Winchester brothers. She hadn't spoken much about her home or why she had run away despite Sam's constant barrage of questions. Dean never shared the tidbits of information that she had divulged in the alley with his annoyingly nosey brother, figuring that might just get Sam blabbing about their Mom, a subject Dean avoided like the plague. They did find out that she was ten years old, an only child, and was from the nearby town of Windom. She had run away from home over a week before running into Dean, slipping out with just ten bucks and a change of clothes, hence sleeping in the alley.

They spent most of the days chilling in the room, watching TV, and hanging out at the park half a block away. Dean was a master at cards and patiently taught Mellie every game he knew. Both he and Sam were enjoying the new company; it often got boring with just the two of them. On the seventh day, after their dad had called to say he would be a while longer, Sam expressed his concern about their money and food running out before dad got back since they had lost the groceries in the alley and there were now three people living on what was left. Dean brushed it off quickly.

"You don't gotta worry about that Sammy," he told him. "I'll figure something out. I'm not gonna let you go hungry." But Dean _**was**_ worried. Usually when they ended up running low on food, he just went without or shoplifted a few things from a nearby store, always managing to hide these things from his little brother. Stealing for three was going to be harder to do.

That evening he headed back to the store with the last of their meagre supply of cash. Mellie joined him and her eyes widened when she caught him tucking a packet of Mac and Cheese into his jacket. Dean just shrugged, embarrassed but determined not to let Sam go hungry. "Don't stare," he whispered. "You'll attract attention."

She nodded her understanding and headed away from him down the aisle. Dean stocked up as much as he could, filling his pockets and stuffing some chocolate bars down his pants too. He walked up to the counter, coolly paid for a loaf of bread and a soda and asked for an extra bag before he called over to Mellie and they left together.

As soon as they were around the corner, Dean started hauling stuff out of his clothes and putting it in the spare bag. Mellie was looking at him curiously. "What are you doing that for?"

He shrugged. "I don't want Sammy to know," he told her.

"Oh. In that case…" She reached inside her hoodie and pulled out three bags of microwave popcorn and a few packets of noodles. Dean grinned. "What?" she shrugged, pulling chocolate bars out of her sleeve. "You were doing it."

They crammed all the stolen goods into the bag and headed back to the motel. Dean cooked supper and afterwards they all sprawled on the brothers' bed to play a board game they had borrowed from the motel office. Sam eventually fell fast asleep, curled up next to his big brother under the blanket they were all sharing, unable to stay awake as long as the bigger kids despite his best efforts.

"I think it's nice how you look out for your brother." Mellie smiled, watching as Dean grabbed the pillows from the top of the bed and dragged them down to the bottom where they were all lying, gently slipping one under Sam's head.

"It's my job." Dean gave her the line his dad had been drilling into his head for years.

"I wish I had a big brother," she said quietly, sounding almost wistful.

"Your dad…" Dean started but hesitated, not sure if he should ask. He decided to go for it. "Does he hit you?" He had a girl in his class last year who always had bruises and broken bones and even though she always insisted she had fallen, word around the classroom was her old man used to hit her and her Mom.

She gave him a long look before she averted her eyes without answering him. Dean took that as a 'yes'.

"How 'bout your mom?" he pressed.

She shook her head. "My mom died. My dad says it was an accident and that she took too many pills but …but he lies when he's drinking so I dunno what happened to her." Her blue eyes came to a rest on his. "Does your dad drink?"

"Sometimes," Dean admitted, folding the gameboard away and placing it on the floor. "But he doesn't really get mean when he does. He mostly gets quiet."

"He's gonna come home soon," she said in a forlorn voice. "And he's gonna call the police on me. He's gonna make me go home."

"No," Dean assured her quickly, confident he was right. He was lying on his stomach and had his chin in his hands, propped up by his elbows. He peered down at her lying next to him. "Can you keep a secret?"

She nodded, her eyes going wide with anticipation.

"My dad's a hero," he divulged. "He saves people like, all the time. When he gets back here, he's gonna help you too. "

"A hero? Like a fireman?"

"Not really, well… sorta." Dean figured that was close enough. "But he won't let your dad hurt you anymore. Maybe you can even stay with us." Deep down he knew that was a long shot but he let himself hope and voiced the words anyway. He liked Mellie - more than he had liked any of the kids from his twenty classrooms over the past five years. She was quiet and reserved yet tough and stubborn, something she had proved by refusing to give up that worthless bag in the alley. He liked having her around. He knew he always had Sam, but he couldn't deny he felt less lonely with her here too. And after saving her in the alley, he somehow felt responsible for her.

"Howcome your dad's gone so long?" she asked. "And howcome you and Sam don't have a babysitter?"

He snorted indignantly. "Coz we don't need one. I take care of us." He pulled the end of Sam's pillow towards him a little and turned to face her as he lay his head down on the free corner. "I can take care of you too," he added sincerely.

She smiled and wriggled her way closer under the blanket until she was snuggled up against him. "Okay," was all she said in a whisper before closing her eyes to go to sleep.

Dean lay awake for a long while afterward, enjoying the comforting feeling of Mellie sleeping on one side and Sam on the other. Ever since he had found out what his dad did, that there were monsters out there that people needed protecting from, he had been in awe of John Winchester. He remembered feeling relief that day, relief to know his dad was doing something important because now there was a good reason that he left Dean and Sam alone all the time, a good reason he couldn't take Dean to ball games or teach him how to ride a bike, a good reason he missed almost all of Dean's birthdays and had to be reminded about Sam's. It was that moment right there, with both Sam and Mellie warm and fed and _**safe**_, that he came to the realization that he wanted to be a hero too. He wanted to protect people and save people. That was what he was meant to do.

He glanced down at the little brunette. He was meant to save _**her**_.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

The next week passed quickly and Sam was clearly growing more and more anxious that their dad wouldn't make it home in time for Christmas. Dean insisted that their father hadn't missed one yet but was inwardly starting to doubt the man also. Sam, in his infuriating little brother way, complained continually about not having a tree this year. Mellie tried to comfort him by telling him she hadn't had a tree since her mom had died and she barely remembered her last one, but Sam still seemed bitter. Dean finally decided he needed a break from the constant griping about Dad and headed out alone to score some M&M's for Christmas morning tomorrow.

He came back to find Mellie and Sam reading John Winchester's journal. He slammed the door and raced over to them, snatching the book and its dark secrets away from his little brother. "Where'd you get that? That's Dad's. He's gonna kick your ass for reading that."

"Are monsters real?" Sam demanded.

"What? You're crazy."

"Tell me."

Dean's stomach tied itself in a knot when he realized he couldn't hide the truth this time. He sank down onto the bed across from Sam and Mellie and told them what he knew. He told them yes, monsters were real and that John Winchester fought them; that he was fighting them right now. He admitted Santa wasn't real, though he was fairly certain that one didn't come as a big surprise to either of them.

Mellie remained quiet next to the younger boy, taking in his questions and Dean's answers in unreadable silence. Dean's heart broke for the both of them as he spoke. He hadn't wanted them to know these things. He figured Mellie knew a little something about monsters already, at least the human variety, but he had wanted to keep Sam from ever feeling scared and unsafe and that was exactly what the kid was feeling right now.

"If monsters are real, they could get us, they could get me," Sam's young voice said quietly.

"Dad's not gonna let them get you," his brother assured him.

"But what if they get him?"

"They aren't gonna get Dad. Dad's like … the best."

"I read in Dad's book that they got Mom. And if they got Mom, they can get Dad. And if they can get Dad, they can get us."

It took some doing to convince the too-smart-for-his-own-good seven-year-old that monsters wouldn't get them and to please just trust his big brother that he would make sure they would be okay. "Everything's gonna be fine," Dean promised.

"But it's Christmas and Dad's not here," Sam persisted, his fear clearly reverting back to resentment. "And we're all alone because he's out saving someone else's family."

Dean sighed, unable to argue the statement even though every fiber of his being wanted to. He got up to hide the hurt on his face and headed towards the door. "Go to sleep, Sammy," he told his brother. "It'll all be fine in the morning. You'll see."

"Where you going?" Mellie asked, still sitting on the bed next to Sam and looking every bit as upset as he did.

"Just out. I'll be back soon. Don't go anywhere and keep the door salted." He sighed. "Now you know why we do it," he added. He was grateful when Mellie nodded and he slipped out into the darkness, regretting instantly that he had left the gun under the pillow. He debated going back inside to get it but his urgency stopped him. He had work to do.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

He was awoken just past dawn by his brother's startled cry and a small hand tapping his leg. "Dean! Dean look!"

He sat up immediately, the events of the night falling into place in his memory as his bleary vision cleared and he saw the Christmas tree he had picked up last night. Well, it was more like a Christmas branch or even a Christmas twig, but he had managed to string the stolen lights on it without waking either of the other two up and was now grinning at his brother's surprised face.

"Did Dad come home?" Sam asked, jumping off the bed and racing towards the tree. Mellie was climbing off the other bed and gave Dean a worried glance at the question.

Dean debated lying but figured they'd see right through it when their Dad did really come home and had no idea Mellie was there. "Uh, no," he admitted. "He couldn't make it but he called and he sent this stuff for us." He joined the younger two on the couch next to the tree. "He wanted me to tell you Merry Christmas, Sammy. Look, there's presents, too."

Sam's face lit up and he knelt on the floor to pick one up and read the scrawled writing on the paper. "Sam," he read aloud, ripping the paper off instantly. "A toy rocket launcher! Wow!"

A grin lit up Dean's face. "Let's shoot that thing off today before he gets back though, huh?" he urged, knowing his dad wouldn't have approved at all.

"Definitely!" Sam grabbed the next present and, seeing his name again, went to open it. "It's already been opened," he pointed out, seeing the white marks where the tape had been stuck originally.

Dean winced. He had hoped Sam wouldn't notice. "Just open it."

Sam did so. "It's a book," he smiled for a moment before a puzzled look spread across his face. "How to Build Model Trains?"

Dean just shrugged. He had been running out of time and all the other presents he had opened had been little girl presents like Barbies and My Little Ponies. "Well, Dad knows you're a nerd," he teased.

Sam frowned at Dean. "Dad didn't send these, did he?"

"Of course he did." Dean was far more desperate for Sam to think his father cared than he was to take the credit for himself.

"Then howcome there's one for Mellie?" Sam challenged, picking up a small, prettily wrapped box with 'MELLY' written across the top. He handed it to her. "Dad doesn't even know she's here, Dean."

Mellie took the package, turning it a few times in her hand before giving Dean an awed look. "You got me a present?"

Okay, now Dean was uncomfortable. He just shrugged, both busted and embarrassed.

She opened it eagerly, peeling away the re-stuck paper and lifting the lid off the little box inside to find a small, silver locket on a silver chain. She dropped the box and held up the locket, wide eyes watching it spin in the air as it dangled from her fingers.

Any guilt Dean had been feeling about the family that would be waking up to unwrapped and missing presents in their giant living room disappeared when he saw the look on Mellie's face.

"It's nice," she breathed. "Thank-you, Dean." With that she lunged towards him and planted a kiss on his cheek before wrapping her arms around his neck.

She didn't pull away until Sam started snickering behind them. "Dean and Mellie, up a tree," he sang. "K~I~S~S~I~N~G!"

"Shut up or I'll end you!" Dean warned, feeling a hot flush in his face. Mellie just stuck her tongue out at the younger Winchester.

Sam was still chuckling when he dug in his school bag to pull out a small object wrapped in a newspaper comics page. He handed the package to Dean. "Here. Take this."

Dean recognized it as the present Sam had received from Bobby to give John and hook his head. "No. No, that's for Dad."

Sam's smile faded. "Dad lied to me," he said. "You didn't. Dad's not here on Christmas Day. You are." He shoved the parcel towards Dean. "I want you to have it."

Dean still hesitated. "You sure?"

Sam nodded, looking certain. "I'm sure. Merry Christmas, Dean."

Dean tore the paper open carefully to find a horned amulet on a leather string. He pulled it over his head, his heart thumping in his chest. "Thank-you, Sam. I love it," he said honestly, smiling at his little brother. "Merry Christmas."

Sam smiled back and looked over to Mellie, who had put her new necklace on too and was now tilting her head to try and read the inscription.

"_Forever yours_," she read aloud, getting a full on giggle fit out of Sam. Dean blushed furiously. It had been dark in the big house's living room and he hadn't noticed any writing.

"Shut up," he hissed at his brother. "Shut up or I'll fricking pulverize you."

"Not if I get him first," Mellie laughed, thumping Sam on the head with a nearby cushion. Within seconds, the three were running around the room in a massive pillow-fight, laughing and giggling.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

It was the middle of the night two days later when John Winchester came home. To say he was displeased about finding a third kid in his motel room would be an understatement. Within two minutes he had all three children sitting on the edge of one of the beds as he paced back and forth in front of them, demanding answers. Most of those were given by Dean who, in turn, received the brunt of John's anger.

"What the Hell were you thinking?" he seethed. "She's on the back of the damn milk cartons, Dean! Are you _**trying**_ to break up this family? Do you _**want**_ Children's Services to take Sammy away?"

"No sir," Dean answered, his head hung low.

"I'll deal with you in the morning," the grown-up growled. "I'm taking her home right now."

"No, Dad," Dean argued, surprising himself and his brother.

He got a raised eyebrow in response. "Excuse me?"

"Please, " Dean continued, his voice practically trembling. "You can't send her back. Her dad's mean and he hits her." He could feel Mellie cowering beside him, leaning into him and not having said a word since the angry bear that was Dean's father had walked through the door.

John turned to Mellie. "Is that true?" he demanded, oblivious to just how intimidating he could be and how an abused child would surely react to his demeanour.

Mellie was terrified. She wrung her hands in her lap and kept her eyes glued to the floor. Her father's voice rang in her head, warning her never to tell anyone or he'd make sure she regretted it. Days on end locked into the closet came to mind, or a beating so bad she couldn't move for a week.

"Melanie, I need you to answer me," John Winchester said sternly. "Does your dad hit you?"

She shook her head. "No," she said, falling into her old habit of lying and denying as she had been taught.

"No? Why'd you run away then?"

_He was going to send her home anyway; she knew it. _"Coz he wouldn't let me get a dog," she lied. _The less she said against her dad, the less mad he would be._

John practically growled. "Get in the car," he commanded sharply before turning back to his sons. "I'll deal with you two later. Get packed and ready to go by the time I get back."

Mellie shuffled to the door, her head still down.

"Dad, wait." Dean stood up, hesitating when his father glowered at him but not backing down. "Please, Dad. Don't send her back."

Mellie suddenly turned around and ran back to him, wrapping her thin arms around his neck and squeezing him in a tight hug. "It's okay," she whispered, not wanting him to get in any more trouble because of her. She pulled away, her blue eyes glistening with tears. "Bye, Dean."

John sighed as he watched but didn't say anything more to his son and Mellie came back over to the door. He ushered her out and she followed him to his big, black car, sinking into the passenger seat when he opened the door. He got behind the wheel and started the engine with a rumble, ordering her to put on her seat belt as he pulled out of the motel parking lot.

It was a half hour drive from Butterfield to Windom and the man seemed to know the way. He didn't speak until they were almost there, turning to her and studying her face for a long moment. "Your dad's worried about you," he said. "It's all over Windom's newspapers that you went missing and he's been looking for you like crazy."

She didn't respond. Dean's dad wasn't anything like the rescuing hero Dean had described. He didn't want her to stay with them and he certainly wasn't going to save her.

"You know," he continued, "I love my boys and would never hurt them. But some people don't understand that Dean can take care of himself and if they found out that he was alone…" He let the sentence trail off. Mellie kept her head down, wringing her hands in her lap. "Melanie," he said in an authoritative tone. "Melanie, look at me."

She looked up at him, blinking fearfully.

"Can I trust you not to tell anyone about Sam and Dean; about any of us?" he asked, his voice growing gentle. "See, if you say anything, my boys could be taken away. Put in foster homes, separated even. If Sammy was taken away, that would hurt Dean more than anything. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

She nodded. She understood exactly what he was saying. Dean would be devastated if he lost his little brother and she certainly didn't want that to happen. "I won't say anything, I promise," she answered him finally, meaning it sincerely.

He seemed pleased and nodded but kept throwing concerned glances her way as they neared the block she lived on. Finally he pulled the car over at the playpark half a block away. "Okay, you can get out here," he announced. "I'll watch you to make sure you're safe until you reach your house, okay?"

She nodded and reached for the door handle but he stopped her. "Wait," he said with a sigh. "Hang on." He rummaged through the glove compartment until he found a small notepad and a pen and scribbled something on one of the pages before tearing it out and handing it to her. "You keep this," he told her. "This is the name and number of a friend of mine who lives here in Windom. Her name's Kate Milligan and she's a real nice lady, okay?"

Mellie took the paper and nodded.

"Now if you need anything … I mean _**anything**_, you just call her, okay?"

Another silent nod.

"Melanie, listen to me." He waited until she looked up at him. "If you're in trouble of any sort or if you need help, you call this lady. Tell her I gave you her number. She'll help you, I know she will."

The little girl nodded again, tucking the paper into her back jeans pocket as she stepped slowly out of the car, her heart pounding with dread. She pushed the door closed and started towards her house, only glancing around once to find the dark-haired man still watching her from the black car in the shadows.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

_**A/N**__: FYI, I have toyed a little with the cannon details concerning Adam (I adjusted the dates a little bit – he's a couple of years younger in my fic; born Sept.1992 instead of Sept.1990). Just to give you a head's up so you know I didn't screw up by accident, lol. Oh, and I went slightly AU with some other bits, too ~ I'm sure you noticed._

_Also, I've never written from a kid's POV before and that was really hard! I hope you enjoyed it anyway. I know I was rough on John in this chap but he does have some redeeming qualities in the next one. The next chap is the second time Mellie runs into a Winchester and takes place over ten years later so they're all grown ups. I'm nervous about this one so please review and let me know what you think :-) _


	2. PART 2 Chapter 2

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**PART ****TWO:**

_**October 2003**_

She was a week shy of her twenty-second birthday when she saw a Winchester again. It was eleven-thirty, a half hour until closing time at Mac's Tavern in downtown Minneapolis and just a few regulars were left when he strode through the front door and sank into the booth in the quietest corner. Not thinking anything of it, she sighed as she slid off her stool and headed over to take his order.

"Hi there," she greeted him with the polite but meaningless smile she used on customers. Not being much of a people-person, she hated this job but it came with tips and a paycheck alone wasn't going to keep her rent paid and her car on the road. "Listen, it's last call in ten minutes so if you want more than one…"

Her voice caught in her throat when he looked up and met her eyes. It only took a second to place where she'd seen him before and her heart stopped when recognition hit her. It may have been almost twelve years but she remembered it like it was yesterday. She remembered those two weeks of blissful freedom, she remembered what happened after she got home, and she remembered that he was the one who had taken her back there.

"One's fine," he told her with a no nonsense nod. "Make it a Bud."

And she remembered his sons.

"You do serve Bud, don't you?" he asked in a deep, rumbling voice, eyeing her with a hint of amusement.

_Crap, she was staring_. "Oh, uh, yeah," she stammered. "Be right back."

He stayed for fifteen minutes, sitting with slumped shoulders and a brooding expression as he drank his Bud alone. He kept checking his watch as if he had somewhere to be and continually glanced up at the front door.

_John Winchester_. She couldn't help but stare at him, wondering what he was doing here, what he'd been up to all these years … where his sons were now. It was with a start she realized her eyes kept flitting towards the door also, waiting, expecting, _**hoping**_.

"What's with you, Laney?" the bartender and bar owner asked as she finished serving the last call round. He looked over at the older man in the corner who was rising to his feet to leave. "You know that guy or something? You've been staring at him since he came in."

"Brad, can I head out early, tonight?" she asked, ignoring his questions and already untying her money apron. She didn't wait for an answer but heard his frustrated huff as she hustled her way over to the front door, her eyes glued to the disappearing back of the man in the brown leather jacket.

She felt the cold October wind biting through her thin top and spared a moment to regret not taking the time to grab her coat as she tailed the man down the street. He was walking quickly with a purposeful stride and she hung back about half a block, not really sure why she was following him in the first place. All she knew was a wave of panic had come over her when she had seen him leaving and all she could think of was the opportunity that was walking out that door. A chance at possibly seeing Dean again…

Why she didn't just call out to him, she didn't know. It was simple, really.

'_Hi, I'm Laney. You're Dean's dad, right? Is he around? How is he?_"

She sighed as she kept walking, sliding her fingers into her jeans pockets to keep them warm and speeding up as he rounded the corner ahead of her.

'_Oh, Dean's married? With two point five kids? That's nice_. _I'm happy for him. No, you don't have to tell him I was asking about him; he wouldn't remember me anyway.'_

Laney slowed as she reached the corner, peering around it and squinting her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the small parking lot beyond. As she stepped forward, it occurred to her that this was a bad idea on so many levels but she didn't have time to reconsider before she was grabbed roughly from behind. She tried to elbow her attacker in a basic self-defence move but he was too fast and before she knew what was happening, her back was slammed against the brick wall of the corner building and the sawed-off barrel of a shotgun pressed into her throat.

"Don't move or you'll be tasting rock salt for a month," John growled.

She just nodded and stopped struggling.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why are you following me? You said midnight; I got ten minutes still."

"I just work at the bar," she managed, not sure who he thought she was but terrified at the feel of cold steel digging into the soft flesh under her chin.

"Yeah, right." He pressed his forearm painfully across her shoulders. "You always follow your patrons out the door?"

She shook her head. 'I…I recognized you. I just wanted to ask you about…"

"Nuh-uh, I'll be the one asking the questions here." He pushed the shotgun harder against her throat. "Now what do the demons have planned for my son?"

That caught her by surprise. "Dean?" she whispered but gasped when she saw two men appear suddenly out of the darkness behind him.

Her eyes widening must have alerted him to the newcomers but not quickly enough. One of the men swung a fist at him, striking him on the side of his face as he turned around.

Her curiosity of how he was flung so far across the parking lot from a single blow was overridden by the shock of the shotgun going off just as it was yanked away from her neck. Pellets of buckshot – or was it rock salt? – sprayed the wall next to her head, a few stray ones stinging her neck and collarbone. She instinctively ducked, sliding down the wall to a crouched position and raising her arms for protection.

But the men ignored her. They both immediately turned and headed over to where John had landed on the gravel. One grabbed the front of his jacket and stood over him, landing a couple of hard punches to his face while the other stood back with his arms crossed.

Laney pressed a hand to her neck, confirming the stinging was just a couple of small wounds and wiping away the trickle of blood before pushing herself to her feet. "Hey!" she yelled at the two men without thinking. "Lay off!"

She rushed forward to intervene but the man standing aside spun around with inhuman speed and wrapped a hand around her throat. "Back off, bitch," he hissed and she could have sworn his eyes went black. Not just dark, but solid _**black**_ – the pupils, the irises, the whole things. He threw her backwards and the breath was forced out of her as she hit the wall and slumped to the ground at its base.

John used the brief distraction to roll to the side and lash out. He splashed what looked like water from a flask at the man above him, who yelled and jumped back but recovered quickly and rewarded the downed man with a sharp kick to the ribs. Laney crawled to her knees and saw the discarded shotgun lying in the gravel a few feet away. She made a lunge for it, her mind spinning with memories of sitting with a seven-year-old Sam Winchester reading his dad's journal about monsters and his brother Dean explaining that they were real. Over the years she had convinced herself that was just three gullible children believing a parent's lies but these men…

Human or not, they looked like they were going to kill John Winchester. She got to her feet, pumped the shotgun once, and blasted a round of what she figured was indeed rock salt into the man who was standing watching, hitting him center mass. He cried out and staggered backwards and she quickly pumped the gun and fired again. This time he screamed and fell to the floor, a huge stream of black smoke billowing out of his mouth and up into the night sky.

Now she had the attention of the second man. He straightened up and strode towards her, an angry snarl on his face. She pumped the shotgun but was disheartened to discover it only held three rounds. She took a step backwards, not liking her odds. She spun the shotgun in her hands and swung it at him like a baseball bat, encouraged when she felt the handle connecting solidly with the side of his head.

But he didn't seem to be affected. He didn't even flinch as he reached up and snatched the weapon in his hand, tossing it aside without ever taking his eyes off hers. He lunged forward and shoved her back into the wall again, this time closing his fist around her throat and squeezing as he lifted her off her feet.

"Bad move little girl," the man growled at her, seemingly impervious to her kicking and thrashing as he cut off her air and held her in place. She clutched at his hand, trying to pry his fingers off her throat while kicking at him madly, panic taking over her thoughts very quickly. Her vision began to go, dark blotches starting around the edges and slowly moving inward as she felt her body losing strength. She thought she saw a glimpse of John Winchester's face behind the man and heard his deep voice saying something in a foreign language before she was suddenly falling to the ground, still fighting for air when the darkness took her.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

She woke up in a car, a deep, throaty rumble almost lulling her back to sleep in the incredibly comfortable seat. Nevertheless, she forced her eyes open, her hand instinctively moving to massage her aching throat. She took in her surroundings quickly and found a silent John Winchester studying her from the driver's seat.

"Good, you're awake," he said simply.

Her mind replayed the events in the parking lot and she blurted out the biggest questions. "What happened? Who were those men?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Who?"

"Okay, _**what**_," she acknowledged.

He kept driving, glancing at her thoughtfully every few seconds but didn't answer.

"I deserve an explanation," she said finally, his silence making her uncomfortable.

He put his signal light on and turned into the parking lot of a seedy motel, killing the engine. He got out and walked briskly around to her side, opening her door and standing back. He tilted his head towards the room door in front of them. "Let's get inside."

Alarm bells were ringing like crazy in her head. Going into a motel room alone with a seriously shady guy when nobody knew where you were had bad horror movie written all over it.

He pulled back his leather jacket enough to let her see the handgun tucked inside his jeans. "That wasn't a suggestion," he added, giving her a hard stare.

She swallowed but did as he asked, allowing him to wrap his fingers around her elbow as he marched her to the door, unlocked it, and pushed her inside. He closed it behind him and turned to face her. Without saying anything, he tossed her the flask he had brought out in the parking lot scrimmage.

She caught it and gave him a curious look.

"Drink it," he commanded.

_Crap, he was going to poison her. Or worse drug her and…_

"It's just holy water," he divulged, still watching her closely as he moved over to a duffle on the bed and started rummaging around. He pulled out a bag of what looked like salt and started pouring a line of it on the floor all around her.

"Drink then step out of the circle."

Salt. She remembered the salt. Dean used to put a line of salt across the motel door every night and every time he left Sam alone in the room.

"I'm not a ghost," she told him. "Or a demon."

"Well I won't know that until you take a drink and step out of the circle." His voice was calm now and he stood with his arms folded, looking effectively foreboding.

She sighed, figuring what the hell as she took a long drink from the flask, lifting it up so he could see the liquid going down her throat. It actually felt good because her throat was still raspy and raw from being choked out. She swallowed and stepped sideways out of the circle of salt. "Satisfied?"

She saw his shoulders relax and he moved to sink into a cheap, wooden chair by the table, letting out a tired sigh as he did so. He wasn't exactly letting her leave but at least he was no longer in between her and the door. It was then that she noticed his face was bruised, his lip split, and there was blood matting his hair over his left ear.

"You the witch?" he asked her bluntly.

"Witch? What witch? No. Listen, like I told you, I just work at the bar."

"You said you recognized me. From where? I don't know you."

She hesitated, not sure why she was suddenly nervous. "It was a long time ago," she said finally. "I was just ten the last time we met."

He gestured for her to go on, leaning back in the chair and giving her a hard stare that didn't leave much room for disobeying.

"My name was Melanie Gorham," she explained, not bothering to elaborate that she now went by Melanie Pearce, her mother's maiden name. "I ran away from home when I was ten and your sons took me in and let me stay with them. When you came back, you took me home." She folded her arms across her chest, determined not to let talking about that time in her life rattle her.

Recognition hit his eyes and his face softened. "Mellie," he said with an acknowledging nod. "I do remember you. My son hardly spoke to me for a month because of you."

"It's Laney now," she said quickly. "I don't go by Mellie anymore."

"Okay, Laney it is." His voice was still gruff but he suddenly no longer had the intimidating, stone-faced persona she had seen in the bar and the parking lot. He smiled at her and she was surprised to find the sentiment reached his eyes. He studied her face intently for a long moment before giving her a satisfied look and standing up. He gestured towards the end of the bed. "Have a seat," he offered, though again his tone indicated it was more than a suggestion.

She wanted to ask about Dean, especially since he had brought the subject up, but she held her tongue. Her mind drifted to the boy she once knew as she stared at the eldest Winchester. He was handsome for an older guy and she couldn't help but wonder what Dean looked like now, all grown up. Probably not very good-looking, after all he'd been a bit of a goofy kid, but she didn't care.

She sat down obediently and he stepped up close to pull up her eyelid, peering into each of her eyes in turn. "Your throat alright?" he asked, his voice gentle now and he handed her another flask. "That one's whiskey," he explained with a wink.

She nodded and took a small sip before handing it back to him, watching as he took a long drink himself before tucking it away. He sat back down on the chair and let out a deep exhale. "Alright," he said. "Spill. You've still gotta explain why you were following me down the street."

She wasn't about to admit it she had unresolved issues with what happened all those years ago. She wasn't about to admit she still had this little secret compartment inside reserved for an eleven-year-old boy with green eyes. A boy who had offered to look after her. The first person who had made her feel worth looking after. The first person who had ever made her feel safe.

He wasn't the most patient of men and was clearly used to getting a response when he asked a question. "Okay, let's start with what happened twelve years ago," he pressed. "What's your story?"

He kept pushing the matter until he squeezed the Cliffs Notes version out of her. She hadn't talked about that time in years and it felt strange to be doing so now, especially to someone whom she held partly responsible for what happened. Leaving out any hidden feelings of blame as well as the gory details, she explained that her father had been abusive and he had been severely pissed that she had run away. She had managed to call Kate Milligan, the lady whose number John had given her, about a month after she had been returned home. Kate was a nurse at the hospital in Windom and had called the police right away. In the end, Laney had been put in foster care and her father had gone to jail. John seemed satisfied at the outcome.

She felt she'd divulged enough and it was his turn to give up some information. She was about to ask why he thought she was a witch and what those men in the parking lot really were but a different question came out when she spoke.

"How are Dean and Sam?"

He winced slightly at the question and shook his head. "Neck-deep in this crap, in this life."

"They both hunt monsters too?" After what she'd seen tonight, she was going to assume Dean's stories about his dad fighting these things was true after all.

He gave her a look of mild curiosity at the knowledge of what he did but continued. "Sammy went off to college a couple of years back but … but I don't think he'll be able to escape the target this family has on their backs. He'll be dragged back in sooner or later," he admitted before clearing his throat and changing the subject. "Do you keep in touch with Kate?"

She nodded. "Of course. She's like the only real family I have. Her and Adam."

"Adam?"

"Yeah, that's her son. She's a nurse and I was in the hospital for a few weeks after she got me out of my dad's house and she'd come see me every day. She was pregnant with Adam at the time and even once I got placed in the system she'd still come to see me. I used to go visit her all the time and I babysat Adam from when he was like, three years old. He's like a little brother to me," she smiled. Adam and Kate were the only consistently good things in her life and they meant everything to her. She often wondered what a screwed-up mess she would have been if they hadn't come into the picture.

She surprised herself at how much information she'd just given this man but was even more surprised when she saw the look on his face. He seriously looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"You say she was pregnant when she came to get you away from your dad?" he demanded, his voice wavering.

"Yeah, with Ada…" Then it hit her. She gasped audibly and her hand flew over her mouth. "Oh my God. Wait, how did you know Kate?" she asked, the pieces clicking together like cogs in a wheel. "Were you and her…? Are you Adam's…?"

He shrugged, clearly shaken. "Kate and I were together for a couple of weeks…" he offered. "Around Christmas."

"Adam was born September twenty ninth," she said quickly and there was a brief silence that followed in which they were both clearly doing the math.

He stood up. "I need to go see her," he said abruptly.

"I'm coming with you." She stood up also.

"No," he snapped before pursing his lips. "Look, sorry, it's just…" he gave her a deploring look. "Let me just figure this out. We could be wrong here; let me just talk to Kate and sort it out first."

Laney didn't argue, her mind still reeling. Kate had always told Adam she didn't know who his father was, just that he was a good man and travelled a lot and Laney had never put two and two together. She had, after all, only been ten and had never thought to ask how Kate knew John Winchester.

"Does she live in the same place?" he asked, grabbing his duffle. "Is she married?"

"She still lives at seventeen Beech Street and she's single," she stated simply.

And with that he was gone, his big, black car rumbling away, leaving her standing in the doorway of his motel room. She decided to head back to the bar and get her own car. She would let Kate sort this out with John Winchester but if it turned out he was Adam's father, then Adam was going to be getting the shock of a lifetime and no way her little brother was going through that without her.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

It was a two and a half hour drive and Laney had spent the whole time swimming in memories she had hoped would stay buried forever and dreading how Adam was going to take this news. Couldn't the kid have found out his father was the local veterinarian or a stock broker or even a drug dealer who'd been in jail for the past eleven years? Why did it have to be a guy who hunted ghosts for a living? She hadn't been sure how she felt about John Winchester but she was leaning more and more towards resentment. For her sake and Adam's.

John was sitting in Kate's kitchen by the time she showed up, clearly having figured three-thirty AM was a perfectly normal time to show up demanding to know if you had an eleven-year-old son. He had about an hour's head start and it was evident that Kate had confirmed he was indeed Adam's father. Kate gave Laney a hug as she stepped inside and told her they had already broken the news to Adam and he was upstairs letting it soak in.

"He could probably use someone besides me to talk to right now," Kate hinted but Laney was already half way up the stairs.

The eleven-year-old was understandably wigging out. He had been asking more and more questions about his father recently but to have him suddenly show up at the door in the middle of the night was a bit overwhelming. He had only stayed downstairs for five minutes while his mom introduced him before making up an excuse and coming back up to his room to 'freak out in peace'.

Laney sat on the bed next to him and ruffled his hair. The fact that he didn't complain and slap her hand away was testament of just how bewildered the poor kid was. She sat with him for a half hour, letting him vent and express his apprehension and fears about the stranger downstairs. She realized now wasn't the time to add to the stress by telling him he had two brothers also and decided that was a conversation best left for another day. She headed downstairs to let Adam get some sleep after promising him she would be there tomorrow when 'Dad' (said by Adam with a definite eye-roll) came by to spend some time with him to get to know him.

She paused just outside the kitchen when she heard hushed conversation through the door.

"It was a good thing you gave her my number, John," Kate was saying. "I don't know how much longer she would have lasted if she hadn't gotten away and made that phone call. She was in the hospital for weeks afterwards. She was starving, malnourished, broken bones that hadn't healed right, cigarette burns all over her back, bruises everywhere. That animal had her locked in the closet for a month. You saved her life."

Laney gritted her teeth. John Winchester hadn't saved her life; he'd dumped her off back there to take the punishment that bastard was sure to dole out for running away. It was Kate who had saved her life. Kate and Dean. Kate for getting her out and fighting with authorities to keep her out and Dean for giving her the will to defy her father and make the phone call in the first place, for convincing her she didn't deserve that life and that she mattered.

She took a few steps back and thumped her feet a little harder on the floor, letting them know she was approaching and giving them time to change the topic of conversation. John stood up when she entered, flashing her a look of unmistakable guilt as he pulled his jacket back on.

"How's he taking it?" he asked, clearly referring to Adam

"He'll be fine," she said honestly. "He just needs to let it sink in before you start going all Daddy of the Year on him."

Her abrupt tone in that last part wasn't missed and his eyes darkened as he held her gaze. "Listen, Laney," he said. "Me and you still have a few things to discuss. Why don't we give Kate and Adam some privacy and go grab a bite to eat?"

Why did all his questions sound like orders? She bit her lip, not sure why he wanted to talk to her alone. "Fine," she said finally. "I'll meet you at the truck stop back up at the freeway." She gave Kate another hug. "See you guys later," she told her. She always stayed with Kate and Adam when she was back in town.

"Course," Kate smiled, kissing her cheek. "You gonna stay in town for a while?"

She knew her boss Brad wouldn't go for her taking the next few days off but she nodded anyway, trying not to think about how she was going to pay her rent if she got fired. "Course. Adam asked me to stay."

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

"Did you tell Adam about Sam and Dean?" John didn't beat around the bush. The question was popped before he had even slid into the seat across the table from her.

"No. Not yet."

"Well don't. There is no yet. I don't want him to know. Or Kate."

She scowled at him, not appreciating the bossy tone. "I don't really care what you want, John. They're Adam's brothers and he deserves to know about them. Not to mention they deserve to know about him."

He sighed, though it almost sounded like a growl. "Look, Laney, I can see you care about Adam and that's why I'm telling you not to tell him about Sam and Dean."

"Why?"

"Because it's not safe."

"Safe for who? You gonna tell me what's going on?"

The waitress came over just then and took their orders. When she had left, John sat back in his chair, eying Laney carefully. He had a habit of doing that and it was more than unnerving.

"What do you know about what I do?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I know you hunt monsters, like ghosts and demons and crap like that."

He nodded. "Yeah, I do. I'm a hunter and believe me, that's not a life to get an eleven-year-old mixed up in."

She snorted. "You didn't think that way with your other sons. Besides, are you saying you're gonna stay out of Adam's life? Coz that's not fair. I know he's all freaked out now but he's been asking about you a lot recently. For him to meet his dad and then think he doesn't care enough to come by every now and again isn't fair!" She was getting angry. He couldn't help her protective streak where Adam was concerned. "You'd better be around from time to time or he's gonna be devastated and I swear, if you hurt him I'm gonna frigging hunt you down and shoot some of that rock salt in your ass."

He stared at her for a moment, his expression hard to decipher. Then the corner of his mouth turned up in an amused smile. "You finished?"

She just gestured for him to say his piece.

"Look, what I do is dangerous, yes, but it's more than that. I'm known in certain supernatural circles. There are a hundred things out there that would love to give me a little payback and hurting my son would be a sure fire way to get at me."

Laney gasped. "Are you saying Adam's in danger?"

"No," he shook his head. "Because nobody knows he's my son. If you tell him about Sam and Dean, he's gonna want to meet them. Same if I told them about him. Sam and Dean are already in this mess. I screwed that up for them a long time ago. I don't want to make the same mistake with Adam. I want him to stay safe."

Laney was quiet for a long minute. "Are Sam and Dean not safe?" She couldn't help asking the question.

John shook his head. "No. This family's smack in the middle of a demon hornet's nest and it's only going to get worse. I've trained my boys to look out for themselves, to protect themselves, but they're in this for good. But Adam…" He lifted a shoulder in a rolled shrug to indicate that this wasn't the case for Adam. "I can keep the Adam off the demons' radar but only if you keep quiet about Sam and Dean."

"What if they find him anyway?" she asked, her heart beating rapidly in fear for the little boy she thought of as a brother. "What then?"

"They won't."

"But they could. What was going on in that parking lot? Were those guys demons? When you thought I was a witch, why did you ask what the demons had planned for your son? Which son?"

He rubbed a hand down across his face, giving her a weary look. "Okay. I'm gonna trust you with this. I made an arrangement through some people to meet a witch. I was going to give her an amulet that has power for her coven in exchange for information on some rumors I heard about the demons going after Sam for some reason. Obviously it was a set-up because those two men were demons."

"Are the demons planning to hurt Sam? For revenge against you?" She shook her head, not waiting for his answer. "You can't come around here," she told him bluntly. "You'll just put Adam in danger."

"Didn't you just say I couldn't ignore him now that he knows me?"

"Okay. You can come for his birthdays only. Say you work abroad or something."

He seemed to get some measure of amusement from her tone. He chuckled and she once again felt her resolve melting. She just couldn't get a fix on this man. He was damn fierce and scary as hell one moment but then he seemed almost kind the next. "I think that sounds like a plan," he agreed.

"And you teach me some stuff about ghosts and demons so I can keep my eye on him here," she added. "Just in case."

He snorted. "That's not gonna happen."

"Listen," she raised her voice slightly. "He's in danger because of you and since you can't be around, someone has to watch out for him. Someone's gotta make sure none of these things that want revenge against you get Adam instead."

"I'm his father. I'll deal with it."

Now it was her time to snort. "You don't know the first thing about being a father," she seethed.

She swore she could see the hair on the back of his neck bristling. "What's that supposed to mean?" he challenged.

"It means you're not getting any World's Greatest Dad mugs anytime soon." She figured she was going to regret her outburst but she was past the point of reining it in. She was normally quiet to the point of being thought of as strange but she had a fierce protective streak in her when it came to those she cared about and Adam and Kate were her only family as far as she was concerned. "See it's all clear now. When I ran away and was staying with Sam and Dean, you weren't out hunting. You weren't saving people like Dean thought; you were here, in Windom, playing house with some poor woman who probably thought you were gonna stick around afterwards. Meanwhile your kids were a half hour drive away, _**alone**_, on _**Christmas day**_! And you couldn't even be bothered to stop in and say Merry Christmas!"

She could see his jaw clenching and braced for an angry reply. Instead he spoke softly. "Is that what this is really about?" he said. "That why you been giving me the stink eye since I first saw you?"

"No," she huffed. "Not just that."

"What then?" he challenged. "Go ahead, Laney. Speak your mind. Don't hold back on my account."

She cracked. "Because you sent me back there!" she hissed. "Dean told you what he was like and you sent me back anyway."

He sighed and his next words didn't sound surprised. "I'm sorry," he said simply. "You told me your dad didn't hit you. If I had known…"

"You knew," she cut him off. "You just didn't listen. You were too busy looking out for yourself."

"So, you been hating me all these years then?'

Laney didn't answer but her silence was a deafening 'yes' as she held her gaze fixed out the window and off the man across from her.

"Can't say I blame you," he continued. "I have been known to screw up. God knows I've screwed up with my boys a thousand times, but…I am sorry."

She swallowed and turned to face him again. He sounded genuine. "Just don't screw up with Adam. He doesn't deserve that."

Their food was brought over and they ate in silence. When he balled his napkin up and pushed his plate away, he gave her another long, thoughtful look.

"You know, in that parking lot, when those demons attacked, you didn't hesitate. You shot that one twice without backing down."

He got a questioning look in return.

"That was pretty tough," he acknowledged. "Your tailing skills suck, and you didn't know how many rounds the shotgun had, but I suppose I could teach you the basics."

Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. The prospect was actually really exciting.

"Just enough so you know what to look for," he insisted. "So you know when to call me. I guess I would feel better knowing there's someone close by who knows a little something about what's really out there. Someone who thinks of Adam as family."

"He is my family," she said without hesitation.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Adam took the next few days off school and John spent every one of them getting to know his son. Every evening was spent teaching Laney the basics of hunting. He was strict and a total drill sergeant as he showed her weaponry, basic self-defence moves, and how to take down a bigger, stronger opponent, pushing her to her limit and not taking it easy on her one bit. She was almost ready to hate him every night as she dragged her bruised body to bed but then she would see him with Adam, taking him to ball games and on fishing trips. She would see the grin on Adam's face and she would change her mind all over again.

After that first day, he didn't talk much about anything personal, which suited Laney just fine as she wasn't big on sharing either. After a week had passed, he met her by his car and explained that he had to head back up to Minneapolis to meet Dean, who had wrapped up his hunt and would be showing up in a couple of days. That meant he had to leave now since he still had to track down and deal with the witch that had set him up in the parking lot and he wanted to do that before Dean showed up.

"I'm heading back too," she told him. "I told my boss it was a family emergency and he says I still have my job if I'm back by tonight."

He nodded and shuffled uncomfortably. "Look, Laney," he said finally. "You're good. I know I was hard on you but you've got good instincts, which is something I can't teach. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm glad Adam has you. I trust you and I think he'll be safe with you looking out for him." He extended his hand and gave her a firm handshake before pulling her in and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Just don't get any further into this life than you already are," he warned. "I don't want that for you. Please just call me if you notice anything strange. Take care of yourself, Laney." With that he got in his car, not looking back as he drove away.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Two days later, Laney was wiping the bar counter down when John came in and settled himself in the same back corner booth. She grinned at him as she finished taking another patron's order and finally headed over to him with a Budweiser on her tray.

"A Bud on the house," she greeted him, placing the bottle on the table. He nodded thanks and she was about to slide into the booth across from him when he shook his head, glancing pointedly behind her. She turned to see another man approaching and she straightened up right away. The man was young, mid twenties, green eyes, bit of stubble… and basically hot as hell.

"Hey Dad," the newcomer greeted John before he glanced over to look at Laney. "Well, hello," he said, voice smooth as honey, killer smile spreading across his face.

"Hi," was all she said, her heart hammering in her chest.

"And here I thought Minneapolis had nothing going for it," the young guy flirted, still smiling at her as he took a step closer.

"Dean, that's enough," John reprimanded sharply, getting to his feet. "We've got to get going."

"What? I just got here," Dean griped. "I just drove twelve hours. Surely we have time for … uh..." he leaned in closer as if to read her nametag even though his eyes never left hers, "...Laney here to bring me one beer."

"Get your ass outside," John ordered, shaking his head and barely managing to hide the smile forming on his lips at his son's antics. Dean groaned but turned around and John waited until his son was halfway back to the door before slipping Laney a piece of paper. "Just in case you're in trouble and you can't get a hold of me," he said quietly. "Don't use it unless you have to."

She nodded, her heart still going a mile a minute. _Jeez, what was wrong with her?_ He was just some kid who had helped her out once. She watched them stroll out the front door, an unmistakably commanding and fearless air surrounding the pair of them, before unfolding the paper to find Dean's name and phone number.

Now she had a grown-up face to put with that of the little boy from her past. She just hadn't expected it to be such a damn attractive one.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

_**A/N: **Okay, I know this chapter was a lot of set-up for the future plot and very little Dean but it was necessary and I thought you should get the backstory. Hopefully I did John justice and I promise next chapter, Laney and the brothers are thrown together in a very bad situation (takes place somewhere in season three) and sparks fly, though not the ones you might think. Please review! :)_


	3. PART 3 Chapter 3

_**A/N:**__ So sorry I've been MIA. I had this chapter 90% done when I lost it somehow! So after almost throwing my laptop out the window, I had to rewrite the whole thing. Ahhrgghh! Any of you authors out there ever lose a bunch of work? Is it just me or is it even harder to write it the second time? I would have thought it would be easier but no ... I'm not as happy with my second version but at least it's done. So again, sorry for the huge delay in this chapter!_

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**PART 3**

_**December 2007… **__(about halfway through season3, just before 'A Very Supernatural Christmas')_

"Okay, run it by me again," Dean told his brother as he pulled the Impala over onto the gravel shoulder just down the road from the crime scene. It was dusk but there were still two state cruisers there with flashing lights and the brothers could make out a flimsy barricade of yellow caution tape keeping back the few onlookers.

Sam sighed loudly, not hiding his frustration at Dean's insistence they work this run-of-the-mill regular hunt when they should be concentrating on finding a way out of his crossroads deal. Dean's year was half over and so far they had found nothing.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly. It was Dean's usual MO to have Sam repeat the facts just before they took on the Fed roles to lessen the chance they got caught in a lie. "Six people in the past week have gone missing, all in their twenties. All disappeared from different places and didn't seem to know each other which wouldn't make it our type of case except there's something else."

"Right," Dean nodded, rummaging absently through their box of fake ID's. "Weird symbols have popped up in three different places. A park, an alley, and now this place."

"Yep. And naturally it turns out the missing people and the strange symbols are linked. The wallet of one of the missing people was found in this place."

'This place' was a corn field on a rural road on the outskirts of the former mining town of Clarkdale, Arizona.

"Yeah, in a frigging crop circle." Dean rolled his eyes as he pulled himself out of the car. "Local law enforcement probably think we're being invaded by little green men."

"Hey, _**you**_ wanted to work this case," Sam pointed out. "I'd be more than happy to skip it and do something more important with our time like try and find out which demon holds your con..."

Dean slammed the Impala's door shut, effectively cutting Sam off. Sam groaned and got out the other side, shooting an annoyed look across the roof of the car before Dean tossed him his ID and marched off towards the yellow tape with a smirk. Sam rushed to catch up.

They flashed their badges in unison to the uniformed state trooper keeping guard at the edge of the field. "Special Agents Bonham and Kilmister," Dean announced in his authoritative voice.

The trooper gave him a quizzical look. "_**More**_ FBI?" he asked. "It takes four of you to check out a dang prank?"

Dean narrowed his eyes. "Four?"

"Yeah," the trooper tilted his head towards the corn behind him. A wide pathway had been cut and cleared leading to a small clearing where a number of people stood staring at the ground. The only ones not in police uniforms were two women, a blonde and a brunette, talking intently to the local Sherriff. "That's your colleagues over there, ain't it?"

Dean nodded quickly. "Of course. Different office is all. Thanks Deputy." They strode past him and headed towards the clearing.

Sam leaned in close. "You realize if they're real Feds, Dean, we're gonna get busted."

"Don't worry," his brother dismissed. "They're not Feds."

"And how do you know?" Sam pressed.

"Dude, look at them. They're hot. You ever seen Feds that hot? Scully's about as hot as real feds get."

Sam shook his head but trusted his brother's instincts enough to keep going. The Sherriff came right over as they approached and, upon being presented with their badges, sighed heavily and ushered the two women over. "Y'all know each other then?" he demanded.

"Uh, no," Sam said simply.

The blonde extended her hand with a warm smile. "Agents Baker and Miller. What office are you two from?"

"Albuquerque," Sam replied tentatively, shaking her hand and accepting the brunette's offered handshake also. There was only one FBI field office in Arizona and chances were, these two women were stationed there - or at least _**pretending**_ to be stationed there. If they were real Feds, they would probably question why the New Mexico office in Albuquerque was sending agents to a site in Arizona.

They didn't.

"And you?" Dean returned the question as he shook the brunette's hand. She was staring at him intently and he couldn't help but notice she had the most vivid blue eyes. Like, _**wow**_ kind of eyes. He let his gaze linger for an unintentionally long time before he suddenly felt unnerved and hastily turned towards the blonde.

"We're from the Phoenix office," the blonde was saying.

Now there was a look Dean recognized. A hint of a smile tugged at his lips as the very pretty blonde stared at him in a whole different way, a way he was much more used to, looking him up and down like he was the special on today's menu.

Sam cleared his throat loudly, his usual way of warning Dean to behave like a professional and not start hitting on the FBI agents, real or not. He received a scowl in reply but Dean got down to business and started asking the local Sherriff questions about the case. The impatient Sherriff told them he had already passed all the information on to Agents Baker and Miller and had better stuff to do than babysit a second set of Feds so "Why don't you lot try sharing the information and stop wasting my time?"

Once he walked away, the women were surprisingly forthcoming and although the brunette remained silent, the blonde, 'Agent Baker', explained to the Winchesters that the wallet of the latest missing person was found near the crop circle, which was actually more like a circular burn mark about six feet in diameter. It had odd symbols lain out on top of the blackened area in a powder which, if it matched the previous two sites linked to the other missing people, would no doubt consist of Terramin, Sandalwood and a number of other ingredients.

Sam was sketching a rendering of the various symbols when the ingredients were listed out and Dean gave him a pointed look.

"Yeah, it's common witchcraft stuff," the brunette said, clearly picking up the unspoken communication.

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Witchcraft? Why would you say that?"

The blonde snorted. "Oh please. Laney had you pegged for hunters before you even made it down the path."

"So that means you're hunters too," Sam accused.

"I'll admit it if you do, handsome," the blonde grinned at him.

"Fine," Dean said with a laugh. "We're all hunters. I'm Dean Winchester; this is my brother Sam."

"Amy Ross," the blonde said. "This is Laney Pearce."

Dean glanced at the brunette to find her staring at Sam this time with a slight smile on her face. "You got so tall," she said quietly. "I mean, compared to your brother," she added, looking a little flustered. Dean rolled his eyes. He was six foot one, not short by any means, but his gigantic Incredible Hulk of a brother was always making him look short. Combine that with Sam's ridiculously high morals when it came to women and Dean had long since realized that he made a terrible wingman.

"I think we got all we can here," Sam suggested. "Why don't we meet up in town and put our heads together; see what we can come up with?"

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

It turned out the female friends had been on the case a day and a half longer than the brothers and had managed to find a link between the missing victims before the latest crime scene had been found.

"Besides all being in their twenties and in good shape, they all have something to do with law enforcement," Amy divulged as they sat around the corner table in the local bar. "I mean, I know it's a bit of a stretch, but it's all we could come up with."

Once again, it was Amy who was doing all of the talking. Dean sat next to Sam across from the two of them, not by his choice, of course. The girls had slid into the same side of the booth before he and his brother had even made it to the table. He was trying not to ogle the blonde as she spoke, easily carrying her friend's weight in the conversation also with her friendly chatter, but he found it even harder to keep his eyes off the brunette, Laney.

There was something about those eyes. Not only were they stunningly blue but they were ... for lack of a better word, intense. He couldn't seem to catch her at it but he was sure she kept stealing glances at him, studying him in a way he couldn't decide if he liked or not.

"One guy was a cop," Amy was saying. "And one guy was a security guard. The third guy was an on-leave Marine just back from Iraq. The women were a forestry Ranger, a county court bailiff, and the twenty year old was a cadet at West Point back home on Christmas break."

Sam nodded. "You're right, it's a loose connection but it does seem to be a bit much to be coincidental."

"You're forgetting the obvious," Dean pointed out. "That this could be just a couple of crazy serial killers practicing dark magic. Maybe they figured they'd get more juice in their spell if they added human sacrifice to the menu."

"Says who the missing people are dead?" Sam interjected. "I for one am hoping they're alive."

"You get anything yet on these symbols?" Dean asked Amy, who just shook her head.

"So how'd you two become hunters?" Laney interjected all of a sudden, the first words she had spoken since sitting down. "Your parents hunters too?"

Dean nodded. "Our Mom died when we were little but our Dad was a hunter."

"_**Was**_?"

Dean could have sworn a look of shock passed across her face as she called him on his use of the past tense but she collected herself hastily. "Uh, yeah," he answered. "He died almost a year and a half ago."

She just nodded but looked away quickly, leaving Amy to express the customary condolences. A few seconds later Laney stood up. "I'll be right back," she said to Amy before walking hurriedly away towards the rest rooms. Amy watched her friend leave with a confused look but smiled and turned back to the brothers when Sam asked how she got into hunting.

Amy's parents were both hunters but considered themselves retired now and lived in a small suburb of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She had been hunting her whole life and had met Laney about three years ago on a hunt in Minnesota. Laney wasn't really a full time hunter but instead just joined Amy when the blonde begged her to. "I swear, she's like a little pit bull in a fight," Amy laughed. "There's nobody I'd rather have watch my back."

"She seems quiet," Dean observed.

Amy nodded. "Yeah, my girl keeps to herself in company but she's a wild one once you get to know her." She frowned again, her gaze drifting towards the washrooms. "I'm gonna go check on her; I'll be right back."

As soon as she was gone, Dean turned to Sam with a wide grin on his face. "So, which do one you want, Sammy?"

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Laney struggled to keep her composure as she bee-lined it to the ladies room. She locked herself in the closest stall and leaned against the side, her hands moving up to her face in a vain attempt to stifle the tears.

_John Winchester was dead._

She and the older hunter had certainly had their differences but he had faithfully stopped by in Windom a couple of times every year to play the doting dad for Adam. He had also made a few extra visits to her in Minneapolis to grill her on her hunting knowledge, give her a few more pointers, and help her hone her fighting skills. She had considered him a friend, if in an odd fatherly, drill-sergeant sort of way. He had even gifted her a handgun, a nice 9mm with a custom mahogany grip and a bag of silver bullets to go with it. He hadn't admitted it, but it had been too close to her birthday for it to have been merely a coincidence.

The last time she had seen him was a good year and a half ago, which must have been a mere couple of months before he died. He had told her something big was going down with the Winchesters and the demons and that he couldn't come around for a while for fear of putting Adam in danger. He'd actually hugged her before driving away and she hadn't heard from him since. She had given in to her worry and called his cell phone a couple of times but only ever got voice mail directing her to Dean's number. She hadn't left a message or dared call Dean. Keeping Adam out of the Winchester's war with the demons was her main concern, and that meant keeping Adam away from his half-brothers.

She felt a pang of guilt that she was here hunting with Amy against John's orders. The older hunter had told her on several occasions he didn't want the hunting life for her. He had seemed genuine when he had said he regretted that she was even aware of monsters and demons but that he worried about Adam too much to leave him completely unprotected. He had ordered her to stick to reading the lore, watching for supernatural signs around the Milligans, and keeping the hidden wards in place at the Milligan house but frankly, Laney had never taken well to orders so here she was.

Then there was Dean. It had been the shock of her life to be standing there in that cornfield and look up to see Dean Winchester strolling down the path. Even in the suit she had recognized him immediately. She had whispered to Amy that the two men were hunters but even her best friend didn't know everything about Laney's past and hadn't realized she had actually recognized them. Laney had been adamant about keeping hunting away from Adam so she had never introduced Amy to the Milligans and had never even mentioned John Winchester to her. Amy had never been told the story of where Laney got the small silver locket she still wore around her neck.

She was just pulling herself together and drying her eyes when she heard Amy come into the ladies room and ask if she was alright. Taking a deep breath, she answered with a convincing "Yeah, I'll be right out."

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Dean eyed the girls almost hungrily as they made their way back through the bar towards the brothers. Sam snorted and shook his head in disgust. Dean had forced him to move into the other seat while the girls were gone in an obvious attempt to open up the opportunity to make a move on one of them.

"What?" Dean feigned offence at his brother's reaction to his ogling. "I'm just trying to decide what's on the menu for tonight; blonde or brunette."

Amy reached the table first and raised an eyebrow at the new seating arrangement before sliding in next to Dean. Dean threw a smirk across the table at his brother. "Blonde it is," he mouthed silently, wasting no time in leaning back and sliding his arm in behind Amy. She giggled and immediately scooted closer to him on the seat.

By the time it was decided their only course of action in the hunt was to keep trying to dig up something on the symbols and try to assemble a list of all the people with law enforcement or military connections in the small town, Dean and Amy were practically making out at the table. Her leg was draped over his and his hand was clearly misbehaving under the table for every few minutes she would jump, squeal, or even let out a hitched moan.

As it turned out, they were all staying at the same motel. Laney kept her game face on and even managed a smile when Amy suggested she help Sam out with the research in the boys' room while she and Dean 'did a little research of their own'. It wasn't like she shouldn't have expected this; Amy had always been an incorrigible flirt and was forever picking up guys in bars when the two of them went out together. Dean was undeniably good looking so of course Amy would notice that.

No, she supposed, the fact that the two had hit it off didn't really surprise her. What did shock her was how twisted and knotted her insides got as she watched Dean press the blonde up against her motel room door, his lips devouring hers as he fumbled with her key in the lock.

_Couldn't Amy have gone for Sam? He was just as hot._

Speaking of Sam, the younger Winchester was noticeably uncomfortable with the shuffled sleeping arrangements. He awkwardly let Laney into their room and rearranged the plugs to free up an outlet at the table for her laptop before quickly booting up his own. She couldn't help but smile as she watched him shuffle about, remembering the sweet seven-year-old she had known so many years ago. She recalled John saying Sam had gone off to Stanford and wondered what had finally dragged him back into hunting just as his father had predicted.

The two fell silent as they searched online for any clues pertaining to the current hunt. Sam called some guy named Bobby and emailed him his sketch of the corn field symbols. Laney was impressed when this guy called back less than an hour later with a number of names of creatures to try, mostly centering around Greek mythology. They slaved away with the new leads well into the night. Laney asked a few indirect questions in an attempt to find out what had really killed John Winchester but Sam's answers were short and to the point and she wasn't one for convincingly striking up a casual conversation so she didn't push. She did get enough information to conclude that it was far more than a mere car accident; that whatever had happened was still happening and it wouldn't be safe to introduce Adam to his older brothers anytime soon.

It was just after three o'clock when she decided to throw in the towel and headed over to the bed she figured was Dean's. As she passed by Sam, she glanced at his screen and saw he had a hunter's blog up with information on demons, particularly ones with red eyes. "You thinking this is demon handiwork?" she asked curiously.

"Ahh, no," he answered quickly. "I was just checking something else out. Different case." He shut his laptop hastily and rolled his broad shoulders to loosen up.

"Well, I'm done for the night," she told him, kicking off her shoes and sliding under the covers fully dressed, wondering if that 'different case' was the big one John used to allude to, the one that killed Mary Winchester and the one that held sinister plans for Sam. "Good night, Sam."

"Yeah, good night, Laney," he replied politely, sitting silently in the chair for a moment before opening his laptop back up and continuing his research.

Laney lay awake a long time trying _**not**_ to think of what was happening in the room three doors down and cursing herself for being so bothered by it. She had no claim to Dean Winchester. Hell, he didn't even know who she was. She wrapped her fingers around the locket she had kept hidden under her shirt all evening. Would he even remember her if she told him? Probably not. Those two weeks in that cheap motel room as kids couldn't possibly have meant as much to him as they had to her.

When sleep finally found her, Sam was still tapping away at his keyboard.

_Guy sure was determined. Must be something important at stake._

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Sam was up and showered by the time Laney even awoke. She was just coming out of the shower herself when Dean and Amy barged in, giddy 'morning-after' smiles plastered on both their faces. It was decided the girls would head over to the Town Office and try to generate a list of people in the town with law or military-related occupations. With a population of over thirty-six hundred in Clarkdale, they needed to narrow the potential victim pool to a manageable number, especially since if the pattern held, more people could be going missing tonight.

Meanwhile, the Winchesters were going to check out a lead Bobby had called in about an abandoned mine on the edge of town that had been rumoured in certain circles to have been used by a witch coven in the early eighties. Given the common witchcraft ingredients used in the powder in the crop field circle, witches seemed a likely culprit at this point.

"So," Amy smiled at her friend once the two fake FBI agents were settled in an empty boardroom at the Town Office pouring over their manual census documents. "I noticed two beds were slept in last night in your room. Tell me that means you and Sam made such a disgusting, sloppy mess of the first one that you had to move to the second."

Laney shook her head and laughed. "You have such a one-track mind, Ames."

Amy groaned. "Seriously? You didn't take that stallion for a ride? What a waste!"

Laney gave her a mock frown. "Well, _**someone**_ had to do the research," she said accusingly.

"And I totally owe you one for that," Amy grinned back cheekily. "Best sex of my freaking life, I swear."

"You said that about Dave," the brunette pointed out, annoyed at the way the knot she'd felt inside all night was tightening painfully. She had never been the jealous type. "And Greg. And Brett. And the guy with the El Camino. And that one with the funny..."

"Yeah, yeah," Amy cut her off with a laugh. "Maybe it's me that's just soooo good."

Laney just rolled her eyes and held up the stack of papers in her hand to indicate they had work to do but Amy didn't take the hint.

"So you gonna make a move on Sam tonight? Dude has gotta be ripped. I bet he's seriously packing, too."

The brunette groaned again. She loved Amy but the girl always had sex on the brain. "He's not my type," she admitted.

"Oh my God, Lane! I've told you before; you have _**got**_ to lower your standards a little."

"And you need to get some," Laney retorted.

"I'm not the one who has this impossible notion of the perfect guy and ditches any guy who, surprise surprise, doesn't measure up."

Laney winced. Amy always called it like she saw it. "I don't do that," she denied.

"Yeah, right." The sarcasm dripped from the blonde's words. "That's why you ditched that major hottie last year with the abs and the bank account who doted on you. He lasted what, two weeks before you decided he wasn't the one for you?"

"He wasn't."

"Lane, I love you, but you need to get laid." Amy leaned back in her chair and grinned devilishly. "You can have Dean if you want," she offered. "He's a fantastic lay."

Laney sighed, trying not to sound wistful or tempted. "Let's just get back to work, okay?"

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Sam and Dean searched the small, abandoned mine with flashlights and shotguns. The shallow tunnels were dank and musty and showed no signs of recent traffic and no evidence of witchcraft. The dust-thick air and scampering rodents had put Dean in a frustrated mood and he was glad to see daylight again when they finally emerged. He called Amy and the four hunters agreed to meet up at the bar they had visited last night for lunch.

"So, Sammy," Dean grinned teasingly as he and his brother sat in the booth waiting for the girls to arrive. "You want me to help you out with Laney? Talk you up a little?"

Sam huffed his annoyance. This was at least the fourth time Dean had hinted at the younger Winchester making a play for the brunette hunter. "No, Dean."

"Come on," Dean persisted. "She's pretty and you're ... well, you're practically a monk by now. It's a win-win."

"Why won't you give it a rest?" Sam groused.

Dean laughed. He had certainly had fun with Amy last night, more fun than he'd had in a long time, but it was starting to bother him that he couldn't seem to get Laney off his mind. Amy was hot, friendly, and easy - exactly his type of girl - but when they were all in a room together, his eyes seemed to keep seeking out the darker-haired of the pair.

"I'll admit she's quiet," Dean continued, enjoying making his brother squirm. "And maybe she's a bit moody, but she's smoking hot and moody doesn't really matter when you've got her legs wrapped around your neck, does it?"

Sam gave him a disgusted look. "Have some respect, Dean."

Dean's eyes drifted to the door as the two girls entered and a smirk crossed his face. "Well if you're not interested, d'ya think they'd go for …you know ... a little ménage a…"

"Jeez, Dean!" Sam cut him off, thumping his hand down on the table in distaste.

"What?" Dean shrugged. "I got five months left, Sam. So little time, so many women."

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Over lunch, the men divulged their lack of luck in searching the abandoned mine and the women shared their list of sixteen people in Clarkdale that seemed to fit the profile so far.

"Sixteen? That's too many for the four of us to keep an eye on." Sam huffed in frustration. "We need to identify those symbols or narrow it down some. We have no idea what we're even dealing with here."

As if on cue, Dean's phone rang. It was Bobby. The bar was pretty much empty at this hour in the afternoon so Dean put the phone on speaker and set it down in the middle of the table. Bobby informed the hunters that he had traced some of the symbols to a Greek mythological creature called a Minotaur.

"A Minotaur? Like half-man, half-bull?" Sam asked.

"_That'd be the one."_

"So we're looking for a cow-man?" Dean joked. "Hmph. Shouldn't be too hard to single out in a crowd."

"Dude, in real life the signs are never so literal." Sam chastised. "They tend to be a lot more subtle."

"Meaning the guy's a Taurus?" Amy chimed in.

"_Meanin' the thing could look like Mary Poppins for all we know_," Bobby's voice groused out of the phone. "_Listen, there's a lot of different lore about these things. It's gonna take me some time to sift through it all to see what's true and what's bullcrap, pardon the pun. What I can tell you so far is that these things feed every fifty years or so and your missin' folks seem to be what's on the menu."_

"Does that mean they're already dead?" Sam asked the question for everybody.

"_Nope. There's some good news_," Bobby continued. "_Seems a Minotaur likes a big meal. Fourteen servings to be exact. Seven male, seven female. And he likes warrior-types in their prime so that confirms your law-enforcement theory."_

"But that also means we got eight more victims out there," Dean grumbled. "That's your _**good**_ news?"

"_Nope. Good news is there's a ritual to be performed before they get served al dente."_

"That could be what we saw in the corn field," Sam suggested.

"_I doubt it,_" Bobby refuted. "_That was likely just one of the fourteen nightly rituals needed to wake the Bull-man up. See, he stays in some kind of hibernation between feeds and his little dinner party has to be on a New Moon, so that gives you a few more days."_

"Wait, so there's real people actually helping him? Gathering his food for him?" Laney interjected.

"_Looks like. The lore's kinda sketchy on followers so I'll hafta keep digging on that front."_

"Any idea where we can find this thing?" Dean asked hopefully. "Maybe we can gank him before he wakes up."

"_Sorry,_" Bobby apologized. "_I'll keep digging_."

Dean thanked him before hanging up and the group debated their next move. In the end, they decided since there were only three women on the list and one of them was out of town, odds were fairly good that the other two would be part of the fourteen headed for the Minotaur's dinner plate. Two was a manageable number. They decided to split up and tail the two women, a young police deputy and a Tae Kwon Do instructor.

Amy quickly volunteered to go in the Impala with Dean, giving Laney a playful nudge towards Sam as she handed the brunette the keys to her two-door Yukon. Laney rolled her eyes but kept her disappointment in check, knowing Amy genuinely meant well. It was her own fault for not being able to admit out loud that she had feelings for Dean. It just seemed so foolish - she didn't even know him.

She and Sam headed out, tracking the police-woman, Sarah Prentiss, down to her home where she lived with her husband. They parked discreetly outside and Sam gave Laney a shy smile as she turned the engine off and sat back. She suddenly realized they could be here a while so she should probably make some effort at small talk or this could get awkward.

Sam turned out to be sweet and easy to talk to when she made the effort, much like he had been all those years ago. He admitted to trying to get out of hunting and attending pre-Law at Stanford for almost four years before his girlfriend was killed by the same demon that had killed his Mom and he had fallen back into the life. Laney's heart wrenched at the look in his face as he spoke briefly of Jessica. She was surprised, however, to hear that Dean had killed the yellow-eyed demon a few months ago because some of the comments Sam was making implied that he and his brother were very much still neck deep in demon conspiracy but he tactfully never divulged any details. John had always led her to believe the Winchester troubles would all be over when he got his hands on the yellow-eyed demon but it seemed things had only gone from bad to worse if Sam's level of angst was any indication.

Sam asked her about herself, her family and her job, and she eased her guilty conscience by telling herself that she technically wasn't lying when she told him she had no family except some ex-con dad she hadn't seen in over fifteen years. Technically, Adam wasn't her family as he wasn't blood-related - at least not to _**her**_.

Sarah Prentiss finally left her house in her police uniform around ten o'clock, getting into her car alone and pulling out of her driveway. Laney started up the Yukon and kept a safe distance behind her, tailing her in the direction of the police station downtown.

"Well, at least she'll be safer when she starts work," she pointed out. "Surely Minotaur's people won't jump her while she's in the station."

Sam agreed and called Dean, warning him and Amy that their Tae Kwon Do instructor was a more likely mark tonight. "OH CRAP!" he yelled suddenly, the phone still held to his ear as they turned the bend in the road to see a van with a large bull bar on the front fender slam into the side of the woman's small sedan and push it violently off the road.

Laney skidded Amy's Yukon to a halt on the gravel shoulder and hopped out the door before Sam could even explain to his brother what had happened. "Damnit," Sam hissed into the phone before tossing it onto the floor and jumping out the passenger door, shotgun in hand. "Laney, wait!" he called out.

Laney was already racing down the steep banking towards Sarah's car. She kept her eyes glued to the large van still up at the edge of the road but decided she needed to get the deputy out of her car before whoever it was in there got to her. This _**had**_ to be the Minotaur's followers; that collision had been no accident.

Sarah was awake but noticeably shaken when Laney reached her and yanked the car door open. "Come on, you gotta get out," she urged. "Let's go."

"Who are you?" the young woman asked shakily. "That van…"

Laney heard a loud boom split the air and turned to see Sam standing at the top of the banking with a smoking shotgun. He fired again and a second later three men came into view, one of them barrelling into him and knocking him off his feet.

"Sam!" she cried fearfully, wrapping her fist in the deputy's jacket shoulder and practically dragging her from the car. "Come on!" she said urgently to the woman, who was now quite willingly following her over the rough terrain towards the Yukon. Laney craned her neck around to find Sam and saw he was miraculously back on his feet and swinging his shotgun butt-first at the head of one of his attackers. Relief swept through her for a brief instant until more shots rang out and she heard one zing past her head.

Both instinctively ducking, she and the deputy dove in behind the solid bulk of Amy's truck. Laney pulled the 9mm John had given her from the back of her pants and peered around the fender to see Sam taking another hit and tumbling down the banking. She screamed his name again, panicked when the man with the gun in his hand turned from facing her to aim a few shots down the slope at the rolling hunter. She could see six or seven men now, three of which were headed towards the Yukon. She fired a few rounds at the one shooting at Sam and another wave of relief hit her when she saw the hunter tuck and roll behind the deputy's car, drawing a Glock from his jeans in one swift movement as he did so.

John Winchester wasn't kidding when he said his boys were well-trained.

More shots rang out and she saw Sam now firing at the man with the gun from the cover of Sarah's small car. _How the hell had this turned into a full-out gunfight?_ Her heart was racing and her adrenaline pumping when she noticed the three men headed her way were closing in with menacing looks on their faces.

She fired at them and was positive she had hit her mark more than once but they kept advancing.

_Crap, they weren't human. Demons?_

"Get in the truck!" she ordered the young deputy crouched next to her, struggling to keep her mind clear and remember John's training. If they could get in the Yukon, they could charge the men and somehow get Sam out of where he was pinned down taking heavy fire. Hopefully, anyway, because it was all she could come up with.

The deputy nodded, thankfully keeping her cool, and kept low as she reached for the door handle. The two women were crouched on the passenger side of the SUV and Laney peered out past the front fender as Sarah climbed in to safety behind her.

The next thing she knew a boot was connecting with her face and she felt herself tumbling down the banking, hitting rocks and other hard objects she knew would be leaving bruises. She heard Sam's voice shouting her name worriedly but by the time she shook off the disorientation and pulled herself up to her knees, two men were dragging the young deputy towards their van, kicking and screaming.

She turned to see Sam breaking his cover and racing up the banking towards the men, the one with the gun finally having run out of ammo. He charged the ones dragging the deputy away, swinging wildly and managing to knock one down. Laney staggered to her feet and clambered up the hill towards the Yukon as fast as she could while three more men headed towards where Sam was desperately fighting to free Sarah.

She felt panic gripping her insides. _Damnit. They were screwed. _They were outmatched and they didn't even know what they were up against. Bullets didn't work. A shotgun didn't seem to have a lasting effect. They needed more effective weapons. She needed to try holy water, maybe some salt rounds or silver.

"Hunters!" she heard a man shout and looked up to see one leaning in the Yukon's trunk, rifling through Amy's weapons stash. "They're hunters!"

She decided she had no choice but to go for the weapons anyway and grabbed a fist-sized stone from the ground as she lunged at the guy behind the SUV, catching him off guard and hitting him square in the temple. He staggered backwards and she made a grab for the first weapon she could reach in the opened army duffle bag in the trunk, which happened to be a silver knife. She swung it at him, barely aware of the headlights she could see rounding the corner on the rural stretch of road. He dodged the blade and whipped his hand out, wrapping a steely grip around her wrist. She cried out in sudden pain as she felt her flesh burning where he touched her and he quickly forced her to her knees. He narrowed his eyes at her and she noticed they briefly flashed a luminous orange color.

"Hunters, huh?" he hissed. "Convenient."

He spun around just as the approaching headlights flooded them with light and the accompanying deep rumble became a loud roar, almost drowning out the sound of the skidding tires. Laney tugged her hand free of the man's painful grip just in time to see Dean appear behind him, pumped shotgun in hand. He fired and hit the guy square in the chest before pumping and firing again. The man jerked twice and hit the ground but rolled back to his feet quickly and scrambled away towards the van.

"Laney, you alright?" Dean demanded, his voice urgent as he gripped her shoulder and met her eyes. She nodded and allowed him to help pull her up to her feet by her jacket. "Where's Sam?" he added, glancing around almost frantically.

"He's over there," Laney answered, stepping out past the edge of the fender to head around to the front of the Yukon where she had last seen Sam grappling with four or five of these 'things'. "He's outnumbered."

There was a _zing_ sound followed by the unmistakable crack of a bullet hitting the rear side panel of the truck. She instinctively ducked but felt herself being yanked backwards and into a crouched position behind the vehicle. She could feel Dean behind her, or more accurately, hovering over her, his body automatically moving to sheild her as more bullets zipped through the air and bounced off the metal all around them. As he pulled her into him protectively, she was suddenly acutely aware of his presence, his closeness, his touch. A memory raced through her consciousness, a memory of being this close to an eleven-year-old boy who was convincingly telling her "_I can take care of you too_."

_Jeez, talk about bad timing_, she chastised herself, snapping out of it. She raised her head to see Amy taking cover ten feet away behind the Impala's front wheel as the bullets kept coming.

"Sam!" Dean yelled, peeking up to get a glimpse through the Yukon's tinted windows when there was a brief break in the steady stream of bullets. "Sam!"

There was no answer but they could make out a definite commotion so Dean pressed his face to the ground and looked under the car between the tires. Laney followed suit, a feeling of dread welling up inside. She saw a bunch of feet over by the van and the unmistakable bulk of Sam on the ground in their midst, kicking and scrambling as he was dragged towards the van. Before Laney could even register what was happening, Dean sprang to his feet.

"SAM!" he screamed, snatching his shotgun from the ground and racing around the car to charge the men threatening his little brother. He fired the shotgun at the upper bodies of the men, aiming over Sam's head as he advanced at full speed.

"Dean, no!" Sam managed to yell before the man with Sam's Glock in his hand raised his arm and fired directly at Dean.

Laney watched in horror as Dean slammed to the ground. For a moment it was as if time had stopped, or at least slowed down to a snail's pace. She saw Dean hit the ground back first and saw him roll to the side, never losing his hold of his shotgun. She saw the look of agony on his face and saw it change to a look of resolve as he somehow got his hands underneath him. She saw Sam kick the stolen gun out of the man's hand and saw the last bullet kick up a puff of dirt right next to Dean's head as he scrambled to his feet and kept charging towards the fray.

Suddenly time was back to full speed and Amy was next to her, reaching into her trunk. "What are they?" Amy demanded.

"I dunno," she replied quickly, filling the more experienced hunter in. "Strong, orange eyes, and their touch burns. Haven't tried silver bullets or holy water."

Amy bit her lip in thought for a split second before rooting through the duffle in the trunk. "Okay. I'll try silver."

_Damn, she admired the way Amy kept her cool even in the middle of the worst kind of shitstorm. Girl was awesome._

Laney snatched up a machete. "Nothing survives getting its head chopped off," she mumbled.

The two female hunters stormed towards where both Winchesters were now getting the crap kicked out of them on the ground behind the van. Amy fired at the closest man and hit him three times center mass but he barely flinched. "I need something bigger!" she hissed as she turned back towards the car.

Laney kept going forward, thankful the Winchesters were putting up enough of a fight to keep the attention of all seven men attacking them. They had Dean half in the van and Sam effectively pinned down not far behind it. She swung the machete from behind at the neck of the closest guy. It found purchase but his flesh seemed to be inhumanly thick as the blade only made it a quarter of the way through his neck.

The guy screamed and clutched at his throat, now streaming with blood and one of the other men moved over quickly to help him. A third snarled and started towards Laney, his eyes flashing orange, and she held the machete out in front of her defensively, backing away slowly across the road. For a moment she thought she was royally screwed before it occurred to her what Amy was doing. A smirk tugged at Laney's split lip as the Yukon suddenly lurched forward, slamming into the man advancing on her as well as two of the other men that were using the Winchesters as punching bags. Amy screeched to a halt mere inches before the two tonnes of steel struck Sam also.

The men Amy had hit weren't dead but were definitely hurt. Evidently, with three of them down and a fourth limping badly, the hunters were deemed not worth the trouble for the men that were still on their feet suddenly hustled the injured ones into the van and slammed the door. Dean was the closest and lunged for the van back door handle, Sarah's panicked scream from inside getting cut off as the door slammed shut. One of the men hopped in the driver's seat and the van screeched away, an eerie silence descending in the wake of the utter chaos of the past two minutes.

Laney immediately turned her attention towards Sam and Dean. Dean was swaying on his feet and Sam was picking himself up stiffly from the ground, using the front bumper of the Yukon to heave himself upwards. Dean was watching his brother intently with a worried frown on his face when his knees buckled and he slumped to the ground.

"Dean!" Laney cried, rushing forward to catch him. She fisted his shirt and steadied him on his knees, trying to get his eyes to focus on hers. "Dean?" she asked worriedly.

"Everyone okay?" Dean asked, his voice not much more than a whisper.

"Well, _**we**_ are," she told him, half-chuckling at his question. His concern for others over himself bordered on the ridiculous. "_**You**_, not so much." She was fighting a sudden urge to run her hand down the side of his face when she noticed the thick, wet patch of blood on his shoulder and gasped, remembering he had been shot.

"Dean," Sam rasped, suddenly appearing next to Laney, his strong hands gripping his brother's arms to take over holding him upright. "Dean you jerk!" he seethed, his fear far more obvious than his anger.

Laney moved aside quickly, not wanting to overstep and fearing she was being painfully transparent.

Sam ripped open the neck of Dean's shirt and pursed his lips at what he saw. "Let's get you out of here," he said tersely, hoisting his brother to his feet. Dean leaned heavily on the tall hunter as they made their way towards the Impala. "Laney, can you drive?" Sam asked, lowering Dean into the back seat.

"Dude, I'm fine," Dean groused as his brother climbed in with him. "You drive, Sam."

"Dean, you got shot." Sam clearly wasn't opening the floor for a debate on the issue. "I'm not gonna let you bleed out on the way back to the motel."

Amy assured Laney she was fine to drive her Yukon back by herself so Laney slid in behind the wheel of the Impala after tossing a few scattered weapons in the back of the truck. "Well, I've never been in this side of this car before," she muttered as she started up the engine.

"You've never even _**been**_ in this car before," Dean pointed out, leading Laney to curse her slip and at the same time be thankful Dean was still very much lucid. "And it's just supposed to be Winchesters who drive her," he added, giving Sam a dirty look.

Sam ignored the glare and peeled Dean's t-shirt off, balling up another shirt he'd found on the seat and pressing it against the open wound in the hunter's shoulder. "God, Dean, you're such an idiot!" he hissed.

"Nice bedside manner, Sammy," his brother fired back through grated teeth.

"What were you thinking?" Sam pressed. "Running head on towards a guy with a gun?"

"What was I thinking?" Dean retorted heatedly. "I was...Ow! Damnit!" he interrupted himself. "Go easy! There's a bullet in there!"

"It's a through and through," Sam corrected absently. "And the answer is, you _**weren't**_ thinking."

"It was seven against one, Sam! You think I'm gonna stand by and watch them …"

"Yes! Damnit, Dean, yes! Coz if I die, I just die. If you die ..." he pursed his lips and gave Laney a sharp look, catching her eyes in the rear view mirror and making it painfully obvious he would rather not have an audience for this conversation.

They were silent for a long moment before Dean spoke again, his voice this time so quiet Laney could barely make out what he was saying. "Now or five months from now, what difference does it make, Sam? It's gonna happen at some point regardless."

"What difference does it make? I can't believe you would even ask that," Sam answered argumentatively, pouring vodka on the balled-up fabric and starting to clean his brother's wound, ignoring the gasps of pain. "We _**need**_ the time, Dean. We _**need**_ those five months because …" He let out a deep exhale. "Because I haven't given up yet."

Dean raised his good arm and fisted Sam's sleeve. "But if you die, then it's all for nothing," he said pointedly, apparently making his cryptic point for Sam didn't reply. Laney couldn't help wondering what the hell they were talking about.

Dean finally let out an uncomfortable snort. "You're such a drama queen," he grumbled but didn't push any further and allowed Sam to clean the wound without complaint. Luckily, the bullet had gone right through Dean's shoulder above the blade and below the collarbone and had therefore not hit anything vital.

They got back to the motel and all piled into the girls' room to figure out what to do next. With the exception of Amy, they were all banged up though nothing as serious as Dean's bullet hole. Sam put a couple of stitches in each side of the wound, cleaned it properly and bandaged it up. Dean griped and complained the whole time and cracked open a new bottle of cheap scotch. He sank down on one of the beds with a freezer pack held against his shoulder and filled Bobby in over the phone.

Bobby promised to get to the bottom of what the followers were and how to take them out. It was agreed that another full-on confrontation wasn't a smart move so they should just hunker down for the night and let Bobby do his thing, especially since it seemed likely that as hunters, they had all potentially made the list. The older hunter was currently on his way to Illinois to pick the brain of an old friend who specialized in Greek Mythology and promised to call in the morning.

Sam had been quiet while he bandaged his brother up and got a look of disapproval from his patient when he took a long drink out of the vodka bottle he was using to clean the wound. "You're not gonna get all broody, are you?" Dean asked apprehensively and Laney got the impression Sam wasn't the cheerful drinker of the pair.

"No, Dean," Sam fired back sarcastically. "I guess I'll look at the bright side. At least this time it wasn't me who shot you."

Amy's eyes widened and she plopped herself down on the end of the bed Dean was in. "Dude, you shot your brother?"

"He was possessed," Dean defended quickly. "A demon named Meg shot me, not Sam." He winced as he adjusted the cold press. "Same fricking shoulder, too."

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Three hours later Amy was lying on her stomach across the bottom of her bed nursing a glass of straight vodka as yet another Christmas carol started playing on the radio. Dean was sitting up on the same bed with his knees bent and his back against the headboard, sipping from the bottle in his hand and still holding the freezer pack to his shoulder. Amy hummed along with the song, the only one not bothered by the annoying choice of music being aired on the only radio station that came in clearly. She squinted up at Dean, a curious look on her face. "So what was your favorite Christmas, Dean?" she asked.

Dean's lips curled up into a cheeky grin. "The year Sandra Cooper and Betsy Glick dressed up like Santa's elves and…"

Sam snorted from where he sat on the edge of Laney's bed, his shoulders hunched and both hands wrapped around the beer bottle in his hands. It was clear Sam wasn't much of a drinker because he had only had a few swigs of vodka before switching to beer but his words were still slurring slightly when he spoke.

"That's not your favorite and you know it," he argued with his brother.

"Tis, " Dean insisted. "Santa was very good to me that year and trust me, I was a naughty, naughty boy."

Amy giggled and Laney couldn't help but chuckle at Dean's cocky expression.

"Whatever," Sam snorted again. "You haven't liked Christmas since the one where you brought in that runaway girl from the street. That was your best Christmas."

Laney's breath caught at Sam's words but she maintained her composure and kept quiet. Amy, on the other hand, arched her eyebrows at Dean. "A runaway? I wanna hear that story."

Dean's smile tightened and his shoulders stiffened slightly and Laney couldn't help but think he suddenly looked afraid. He fired a traitorous look at his tipsy brother, who didn't seem to notice. Dean hesitated but when Amy tapped his leg and urged him on, he finally sighed and began to recount the story of him taking a shortcut through an alley at age eleven to find these two men beating up on a little girl. His smile reappeared when he described Mellie's stubborn refusal to let go of her backpack.

"I mean, this kid was like seventy pounds soaking wet and these guys were laying into her but she just wouldn't let go of the stupid bag." He shook his head in incredulity. "Turns out there wasn't even anything of value in it; she was just really damn stubborn."

He continued, his voice softening as he went on with the story. He kept his eyes trained mostly on the bottle in his hands as he spoke and it almost seemed as if he was uncomfortable talking about it, like it was a fond memory he wasn't used to sharing but he kept talking. Sam listened intently, not adding much and staring at his big brother as if he was hearing the story for the first time. Dean told them things Laney had forgotten about, small details that came rushing back to her as he spoke, like how they had shoplifted together and how she and Sam had read stories to each other at night. She found her eyes glued to Dean's face, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. He let out an embarrassed laugh as he explained that he had stolen a bunch of presents from a nice house a few blocks away so Mellie and Sam could have a real Christmas morning.

Amy let out a quiet "Awww," and Sam looked like his puppy had just been run over by a car, his glossy and pain-filled eyes fixated on his brother. Laney's throat constricted and it was all she could do to keep her emotions under wraps as she sat in the chair by the window listening to Dean.

_He remembered everything. He remembered her. And the way he was telling the story, those two weeks had meant something to him too. __**She**__ had meant something to him._

By the time Dean reached the night their father had come home, the jovial mood in the room was gone.

"So what happened to the little girl?" Amy asked when Dean stopped abruptly, clearing his throat and taking a long drink of his beer.

The hunter shrugged. "I managed to track her down a few months later and found out she had been hurt pretty bad after she went back home but that she was put in foster care and her father finally got sent to jail."

Sam raised a surprised eyebrow at that comment, leading Laney to believe Dean had never divulged that part to him before. She wondered briefly how a twelve year old had tracked down her records but was more stunned by the fact that he had.

"I just wish I had done more," Dean added quietly, peeling the label off the bottle in his hands.

"Dean, you were eleven," Amy said soothingly, stroking his jean-clad leg next to where she lay. "Sounds to me like you did a lot."

Dean cleared his throat and swung his legs off the bed. "Well, we got a big day tomorrow so I'm gonna hit the hay." He turned to Amy as he stood up. "See you girls in the morning, 'kay?"

The hint that he wasn't in an amorous mood and wanted to sleep alone tonight wasn't missed and Amy just nodded, showing no signs of being offended. The other three all watched him as he headed towards the door and as soon as it closed behind him, Amy turned towards Sam, who was still sitting quietly on the edge of Laney's bed.

"Jeez, that was his _**best**_ Christmas?" she said in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. "I thought my family Christmases were bad. Dad and my brother always get into the eggnog and after a crap load of smack talk, they go try prove who's the better marksman by skeet shooting in the hills."

Sam smiled, the glazed look having faded from his hazel eyes and been replaced by a sad one. "Actually, that was a great Christmas," he said softly. "I mean, I barely remember it but I'm pretty sure Mellie was Dean's first crush and his first heartbreak. That kinda sticks with ya."

Amy frowned at him. "You can't get your heart broken when you're eleven," she scoffed. "You're still a little kid."

Sam sighed. "Dean hasn't been a little kid since he was five."

A light snort escaped Amy. "Dean's _**still**_ a little kid."

"Why would you say she broke his heart?" Laney blurted, unable to keep the question from popping out.

Sam's sullen expression lightened slightly. "I remember he got her, well… he _**stole**_ her a real expensive silver locket. And that was the first and only time I ever remember him talking back to my dad. Dean was pretty upset when Dad sent her home. Then after that, he suddenly decides he's interested in girls but, well, you see how he is about that - never anything serious."

"That's called puberty, Sam," Amy chuckled. "You'll recognize it when you hit it."

Sam smiled back. "Ha ha. Well, there was this one time when he was about seventeen, he was drunk and cheating on whatever girl he was seeing and I accused him of being a dog and he told me it didn't matter because no girl would be around for long with the way we live. He said they all get taken away, just like Mellie. I mean, he was really drunk, but for him to have mentioned her after five years... He told me never to bother getting attached to a girl because they were all temporary."

"You calling me temporary?" Amy narrowed her eyes at the young hunter.

"Uh, no, just, uh ..."

Amy laughed and shook her head, rolling her eyes that her attempts to lighten the mood weren't working. She liked light-hearted fun when she was drinking and Laney guessed Sam was exactly the opposite when under alcohol's influence. "I'm just giving you a hard time, Sam," Amy let him off the hook. "I know where I stand with your brother. Don't worry; we're on the same page."

Sam stood up, giving them both an awkward smile. "Well, guess I'd better get going too," he announced.

"You don't have to," Amy cooed teasingly, stretching her socked foot out and running her toes up the inside of his jean clad thigh. Sam jumped back, his eyes shooting wide with alarm.

Laney had to laugh at her friend's antics. "Jesus, Ames, can't you just be a slut without being a complete whore?"

Amy laughed and Sam took advantage of the moment to slip out the door. "Oh, I'm so cruel," Amy giggled. "Poor guy couldn't get out of here fast enough."

Laney hauled her jeans off and pulled her bra out from underneath her t-shirt, sliding the straps past her elbows and off. She tossed her removed clothes on top of her duffle before sliding into the bed Sam had just vacated. "Get some sleep," she told the blonde as she switched the lamp off, leaving the room in darkness. She could hear Amy climbing under the covers of the other bed and there was a long pause before her friend spoke.

"Laney?"

"Yeah?"

"The runaway…"

"Get some sleep."

"Come on." Amy's voice was soft and sincere. "The abusive father, the foster homes, the locket…" she paused. "It was you, wasn't it? You knew Dean before this hunt. He gave you that locket."

Laney was glad for the cover of darkness as she was challenged to tell the truth. She couldn't lie now. Not to her best friend. Before had been more of an omission that Amy would surely forgive her for, knowing how fiercely tight-lipped Laney was about her childhood. "It was a long time ago," was all she said. It was always her first instinct to keep everything inside.

"You never told me where you got it but you still wear it every single day."

"It doesn't mean anything."

"I think it does."

"Get some sleep."

"You were so worried on the road tonight when he got hurt."

"Get some sleep."

"He has no idea."

"Get some sleep."

"Do you love him?"

"Get some sleep."

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

_**A/N: **T__o the authors of the twelve or so alert updates I have piling up in my inbox, sorry for the delay but I got behind and just had to get this chapter out! I promise I will read (and review, of course!) them all tonight! so TTYS!_


	4. PART 3 Chapter 4

_**A/N: **Just want to thank you all so much for the faves and the alerts on this story and can I just say it was incredibly encouraging to read so many nice reviews! You guys are the best and are so very appreciated :-) I know I said thank-you to most of you already but to those to whom I couldn't reply,** thank-you!**_

**CHAPTER 4**

Laney lay awake well into the night, Amy's last question looped on continuous replay in her mind. _Did she love Dean?_ Of course not. She didn't even really know him. They had hung out for a couple of weeks over fifteen years ago when they were kids. You can't be in love with someone you don't know.

But she did cherish the locket he had given her, barely taking it off since the day she had left the hospital after being placed in her first foster home. Her heart had always sped up its rhythm ever so slightly whenever she'd thought of him over the years and had practically beat its way out of her chest when she'd seen him in that corn field yesterday.

She finally conceded that she wasn't in love with Dean but instead with the _**idea**_ of Dean. A child's memory of a boy who had made her feel cared for when everything else in her life had convinced her she wasn't worth loving. A boy who had made her feel safe at a time when all she knew was fear and pain. Those memories had shaped him into some notion of the perfect boy in her mind that had grown along with her into the perfect man.

So she couldn't be in love with Dean now, the _**real**_ Dean, because he was far from perfect. Sure _**physically**_, he was as close as a guy could get but he was a womanizer, a thief, a hustler, a demon-magnet and had a job so dangerous it could make the front lines in Iraq seem like a walk in the park. He wasn't the sweet kid she had played house with when she was ten. Years of hunting and violence and loss had hardened him.

Of course, he had still jumped in with no thought to his own safety tonight, even using his body to shield hers when the bullets had started flying. Protective and brave, just like the boy she remembered. When Sam had been in danger, Dean had charged forward instantly, putting himself in the line of fire to save his brother without a second thought. Anything for his little brother. That was what the eleven-year-old boy from her past would have done.

And he was funny. The way he teased poor Sam and some of the one-liners he had come up with - she found herself smiling just thinking about it. Life could get pretty grim, especially a hunting life, and she could appreciate being around someone who could bolster her spirits with a little laugh even at the worst of times. It was one of the reasons she enjoyed Amy's company so much. She had her suspicions it was only surface deep with Dean but that didn't make him any less amusing company.

He pretended he didn't care about things, like caring was some kind of weakness, but while he had been telling them about that Christmas sixteen years ago, she could tell he had cared about Mellie - about her. And he cared that young Sarah Prentiss was taken from them tonight, that they had failed to protect her. And he had cared that his brother had been upset and scared after seeing him get shot.

She let out a long, slow sigh and closed her eyes in the darkness. She _**was**_ in love with Dean.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

The Winchesters showed up at their door early the next morning.

"Bobby called," Dean informed the women, sprawling in one of the chairs by the table. He was still favoring his left shoulder but otherwise seemed remarkably healthy considering the beating he had taken and the half bottle of whiskey he had downed last night.

Sam, on the other hand, didn't seem to be faring as well. Besides the obvious shiner from his close call with the Minotaur's followers, however, his suffering seemed to be more weariness and worry than physical trauma. His face was pale and drawn and his expression tired.

Dean went on to explain what he had found out from Bobby, avoiding eye contact with Sam as much as possible. He could feel the angst emanating from his brother in wake of Dean's close call last night and could feel another estrogen-fueled conversation about his date with the Hellhounds brewing and was determined to postpone it as long as he could.

"He dug up some information about the Minotaur's minions," he continued. "Turns out they come in packs of seven per Minotaur and each of them sacrifice one male warrior and one female warrior every fifty years on a New Moon so that's why they need fourteen people."

"So these things have been doing this for thousands of years?" Laney asked. "Did they even have female warriors back in ancient Greece?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah the Amazons were originally from Greece," he informed her.

Dean grinned. "Haven't you ever watched Zena?" he said to her before turning to his brother. "I told you that show was educational, Sammy."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Dude, that show was like porn for you. You didn't watch it for historical accuracy any more than you read Busty Asian Beauties for the articles." He turned back towards the chuckling girls and continued relaying the information Bobby had provided them with in his early morning phone call from his friend's place in Illinois. "Once the ritual is over and the Minotaur feeds, he thanks his followers by letting them drink small quantities of his blood."

"Ewww," Amy interjected, screwing up her face in distaste.

"Tell me about it," Sam agreed. "But his blood has supernatural power and it passes this power to the followers who drink it."

"That's why they can take half a dozen rounds in the chest and keep on walking," Dean grimaced. "And that's why they're still alive after their boss's last feed fifty years ago and that's why they think they'll still be around for his next one."

Sam's eyes narrowed and he pressed his lips together in thought. "Wait, Dean," he said absently. "So drinking his blood makes them immortal." He paused, giving Dean a hard look. "They can't die…"

"Yes, they can," Dean said sternly, knowing where his brother's mind was taking him and not willing to give that train of thought any time to manifest. Sam was looking for a way to keep Dean out of Hell and was desperate enough to try anything at this point. "Bobby and his friend are following a lead that they think will give us an idea how to kill them. We just stay clear of the minions 'till then."

"So what's the plan?" Amy asked.

"Well, I think we have to warn the Tae kwon Do instructor what's coming," Sam shrugged. "Maybe we can convince her to leave town, make it that much harder to find their quota of female warriors."

"What about the men?" Amy frowned.

"There were thirteen of them on that list you girls came up with," Dean shook his head. "We can't warn all of them without creating some kind of mad panic. I was thinking you and Laney could go talk to the karate chick and Sam and I could see if we can find out who owns the van from last night. There were no plates on it but a brown Econoline with bull bars can't be that hard to identify in a small town. Everybody knows everybody and what they drive."

"Sounds like a plan," Amy nodded, rising to her feet. "But why don't I take Sam to talk to the locals and you an Laney go talk to karate chick?" She shot a knowing smirk at Laney. "Don't forget we're all kinda on the menu for these things now so splitting the extra Winchester muscle between teams can't hurt and no offence Laney, but the last time I let you take my car, you gave it back with seventeen bullet holes in it."

Laney groaned at Amy's blatant attempt to stick her with Dean. She knew perfectly well that Amy didn't give a rat's ass about bullet holes in her Yukon. Her older brother, Aaron, had bought it for her when he had quit hunting to settle down with his wife and start a family and he was constantly giving Amy grief for driving the crap out of it and never bothering with oil changes or tune-ups. The blonde had been cursing herself all morning thinking Laney had a thing for Dean and she hadn't noticed and hadn't stopped apologizing despite Laney's constant denials that this was the case.

"Besides," Amy continued, "I'm awesome at dealing with small town locals. I'll get the van's owner out of them easy." She shrugged her shoulders exaggeratedly as if to pretend she had no idea why her outgoing personality and good looks would help gather intel from a small town population, or at least from the male half.

Dean couldn't help but think Sam looked a little wary about being paired with Amy instead of the quiet, reserved brunette. As much as Dean had hit it off with the blonde and found her both sexy and fun, his chest tightened ever so slightly at the thought of spending time alone with Laney instead. There was just something about her…

"Okay," he agreed, getting to his feet and heading for the door. "Let's do this. But Sam," he paused, turning to glance back at his brother. "Be careful, huh? They already tried to snatch you up once."

Sam huffed his annoyance at Dean's obviously overbearing protectiveness and singling him out. "You too, remember?" he pointed out. "We're all hunters."

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't make me hafta rescue your ass again."

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

The news that young police deputy Sarah Prentiss had disappeared last night was all over the radio and the police scanner. Her car had been found run off the road and it was believed the rookie had put up quite a fight because there had been signs of a serious gunfight at the scene. The State authorities had finally put together the common thread of all seven missing people and the general theory right now was that this was the work of an anti-establishment or conspiracy group targeting people in positions of authority.

"Well, at least this might make it harder for them to pick up the rest of their quota," Dean commented as he and Laney got back in the Impala after successfully convincing the young black-belt that she was in danger and should leave town immediately. Dean had been impressed with his new hunting partner . Laney had remained quiet as expected while Dean had argued his case with the stubborn martial arts teacher but had spoken up just when it seemed a lost cause and had turned the tables. She had calmly and convincingly argued that there was no shame in running and it would in fact give the police a better chance to capture those responsible and perhaps rescue those already missing. Despite their secrecy in explaining who they were and how they knew what they knew, the young woman agreed to do as they asked and go to her mother's in Ohio and wait this out.

"Yeah, we really need to find out where Minotaur's hiding and take him out," Laney agreed. "Third rule of hunting. Go for the source," she quoted John Winchester without even thinking.

"Where'd you hear that?" Dean asked with a curious raised eyebrow. "My Dad used to say that exact same thing. Rule number three and all."

Laney shrugged, inwardly cursing yet another slip. "Every hunter says it," she lied.

Dean drove back to the motel, stealing as many glances at the slim hunter beside him in the passenger seat as he dared without being obvious. "So, uh…" he began, a little uncomfortable at broaching the subject of why Amy had quite obviously avoided working with him today. "Is Amy pissed at me? Did I do something to tick her off?"

Laney laughed out loud. _Damn he wished she would laugh more often. What a beautiful thing._

"No," she assured him. "You would know if Amy was pissed, trust me."

"Good to know," he exhaled in relief. "I thought maybe I'd done something and that was why she stuck me with you." He cringed at the way that had come out. "Uh, not that being stuck with you is bad … or that I'm even stuck with you. I mean, I like being with you…" _Oh dear God what the hell was wrong with him? Where had the real Dean Winchester gone and who was this awkward, bumbling idiot moving his lips for him?_

She just smiled shyly and did him the favor of looking out her window while he extricated his foot from his mouth. He took the opportunity to fiddle with the car radio, trying in vain to find a station that played anything but Christmas music. "We need a tape. They're…" he started but was surprised to find her already leaning over and pulling out the box of cassette tapes under her seat where John had always kept them.

"You psychic or something?" he smiled at her.

"No, uh, of course not," she scoffed, annoyed at slipping up again. She kept letting her guard down around the Winchesters which wasn't like her and which definitely wasn't a good thing if she wanted to keep Adam a secret. "Sam mentioned you kept these here," she covered, rooting through the box and handing him a Led Zeppelin tape. "Will this do?"

They pulled in to the motel parking lot before the first song was finished, everywhere in the small town being pretty much a five minute drive from everywhere else. The motel was near the edge of town in a quiet wooded area, just the way hunters preferred it. Dean dialled Sam's number as he unlocked the door to his room and stood aside to let Laney in first. He got Sam's voicemail and was just about to leave a message when all hell broke loose.

He first knew something was up when his sharp, hunter's instincts alerted him but the hairs on the back of his neck had barely had time to stand on end when he saw a figure shoot out from behind the door and jab a fist at his face. He leaned sideways and managed to avoid it but dropped both the phone and his keys from his hand as he took a step backwards and prepared to hit back. As he swung, he noticed Laney tense up and saw another figure charge out of the bathroom towards her. His fist deflected off the first guy's face before he noticed a third man stepping out from the closet and heading his way also.

He felt a steely fist land in his gut but as he doubled over involuntarily, he charged forward, ramming his good shoulder into the bulk of the closest attacker and tackling him to the ground. As he rolled off and tried to get clear of the guy, he saw Laney swinging the tablelamp at one of the men. He recognized them as the men from last night, the bastards who had shot him, kidnapped Sarah Prentiss, and tried to shove his brother in the back of a van to feed to a frigging bull. He sprang to his feet and let his anger fuel the kick he landed in the ribs of the man on the floor, looking up sharply to see the lamp smash into a hundred pieces against the head of the man attacking Laney.

He felt rather than heard the third man moving behind him and spun around just in time to avoid a hard punch to the face. He had his favorite 9mm tucked in his pants but knew it would do no use against these things and would more likely end up being used against the hunters so he didn't draw it. Instead he grabbed the wooden chair and swung it hard, splintering the seat and legs as it shattered against the side of the Minotaur's follower. Dean grabbed one of the splintered legs as a dagger and lunged towards his foe, stabbing wildly.

He felt the weapon sink deep into the man's flesh and almost smirked at the shriek the guy let out as he toppled to the ground. Quickly he yanked it back out and raised it over the other man he had knocked to the ground, preparing to strike again when a voice behind him stopped him in his tracks.

"Stop right there or she dies!" it spat and Dean's heart seized in fear as he turned around, his arm still raised, poised to strike.

The third man had Laney pinned against him, his arm wrapped around her neck from behind. She was struggling but Dean knew there was no way she would get herself free from this guy's supernaturally strong grip. Still he hesitated, his mind racing to figure a way out of this mess for both of them.

"Put the table leg down, hunter!" the man hissed, bringing his other hand forward and splaying out his fingers for the hunter to see.

Dean didn't drop the weapon, knowing as soon as he did they were both done for, and instead gave the guy a cocky look. "Why are you waving at me, Kobi?"

The man narrowed his eyes and grabbed Laney's wrist and Dean was horrified when she let out a sharp cry of pain. Then he remembered that one of these sonsabitches had done the same to her last night, burning her with their touch. The man's eyes glinted and flickered an orangish color and he smirked as he brought his hand up to the struggling brunette's face.

"No, wait!" Dean pleaded sharply, dropping the wooden table leg instantly on the ground. "Alright, you win."

"No, Dean!" Laney argued, her blue eyes suddenly widening with fear. "Behin…" The man's arm tightened around her throat and cut off her warning but in a way, Dean knew the blow was coming before he felt it. It was just a split second of blinding pain on his temple before everything went white and nothingness swallowed him as he crashed to the floor.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

He awoke quietly, remaining still as he pulled at his scattered thoughts and pieced together the situation. He could feel the motion and the gentle hum of the car he was in and could hear a heated argument going on very close by, though the words being spoken weren't registering yet. As he moved slowly to reconnect his dulled mind with his body, he became aware his hands were restrained in front of him, the cold feel of metal around his wrists. He felt a soft touch on his face and cracked one eye open to see Laney peering worriedly down at him.

A quick glance around told him he was slumped in the back seat of a car behind the driver, his arms hand-cuffed in front of him. He was leaning heavily on Laney who was sitting in the middle next to one of the men from the room. The man was holding a bloody cloth to his chest and griping very loudly about the pain to the two men in the front seat and Dean had no trouble figuring out this was the one he had stabbed with the splintered table leg.

He caught Laney's eye and she gave him a very quiet 'shhhh', shaking her head subtly to let him know to keep the fact that he was awake a secret. His head was pounding and he could feel the streaks of blood down the side of his face from the blow he had taken to the head. Laney tipped her head forward, her forehead touching his, and whispered ever so quietly, "Can you run?"

He wasn't sure if his legs would hold him up but he knew he would damn well try so he nodded, not knowing what she had in mind.

"When we slow down, I'll kick him" she all but breathed in his ear, meaning the man behind her. "You open the door and we jump."

Dean had no idea if it was a good plan or not. He couldn't see out the window to determine where they were without giving away the fact that he was awake but he could tell they were driving fairly fast. He also knew if the Minotaur's followers got them wherever they were headed, they would be bull-chow in about two days time when New Moon rolled around. Laney didn't seem to be hurt or cuffed, so it would at least give her a good chance at freedom. His instincts were telling him he should trust her so he nodded.

He spent the next couple of minutes trying to clear his head and his blurry vision, preparing for their escape attempt. He very subtly determined he no longer had his gun, either knife, or his phone. The two men in the front seat were clearly trying to settle the injured and irate man in the back down and convince him that he would get his opportunity to kill the 'bastard who had stabbed him' soon enough and that he had done the right thing by keeping the hunters alive for now. They seemed to be for the most part ignoring their prisoners, clearly not seeing the quiet girl or the unconscious man as a threat.

Their opportunity came two minutes later. Dean could hear a dinging sound like some sort of bell and felt the car braking. He glanced at Laney who was sitting quietly with his head on her shoulder, pretending to check on him as she smiled and mouthed the words 'get ready'.

The car came to a complete stop but Laney remained silent and still for a long moment before suddenly drawing up her knees and twisting herself around in the seat to kick both feet forcefully into the injured man's face. Dean heard the crack of the guy's head against the far window and practically felt the impact reverberate through the late model sedan but didn't hesitate as he sat up and threw his car door open, hauling himself out onto the road. He immediately spun and with his hands still handcuffed, reached in and yanked Laney out behind him.

Only when he had her clear of the car did he divert his attention enough to look around. The dinging sound suddenly made sense for they were at a railway crossing and the lights were flashing. There was still confusion within the car so when Laney started running towards the tracks, he followed her without thinking and they managed to get a head start.

That was when he saw the train coming, mere seconds away actually, and the brunette's plan became clear.

_Brains and looks_, he couldn't help thinking, impressed as they ran towards the tracks and the approaching train, though he shelved his mental praise for a brief moment when he started to doubt they would make it in time. He could hear their captors out of the car behind them now, shouting angrily. He pushed his unsteady legs faster and the pair of them darted across the tracks just ahead of the honking train, effectively cutting off the enraged pursuers.

With the deafening clattering and metal clinking of the train behind them, they both paused to look around. There was nothing here. Nothing - as in no houses, no cars, no cover. The train would be past them in thirty more seconds and they would surely just be run down and recaptured. He saw a devastated look cross Laney's face and used it as motivation to do what he did best.

Improvise.

He grabbed her hand and tugged her back towards the speeding train. Well, luckily for them it wasn't in fact speeding but rather coasting at about ten or fifteen miles per hour. "We're getting on it!" he informed her urgently, starting to run alongside the well-maintained but old-fashioned cars.

Jumping on a moving train turned out to be a lot harder in real life than the movies made it look and both of them were panting and scrambling as they heaved themselves up onto the machinery between the last two cars and hung on while trying to get the back door open. Dean being in handcuffs certainly didn't make it any easier. His head was spinning and he was fighting back the urge to throw up by the time they made it into a passenger car with rows of empty seats. He sank into one to try and regain his bearings and try and work through his obvious concussion.

Laney, meanwhile, was looking around the rail car, frowning as she listened to the historic commentary crackling through the overhead speakers. She grabbed a flyer off a nearby seat and turned towards Dean.

"Damnit," she said. "This is the Verde Canyon Railroad scenic tour," she announced, reading the flyer. "It only goes from Clarkdale ten miles out into the wilderness then comes right back and get this," she slumped her shoulders. "It only goes twelve miles an hour. It's a freaking tourist ride. We're sitting ducks."

Dean struggled to process the newest revelation, his battered head fighting consciousness again. "So?" he slurred, unable to see the problem in his foggy state.

"Are you okay?" she asked suddenly, sounding very concerned as she sank to one knee in front of him. Her hand touched the side of his head gingerly before pulling his eyelid open as she studied him intently. The blood on the side of his face was hardening and he could tell there was a lot of it. Judging by her expression, he must look pretty freaking scary right about now; maybe even worse than he felt.

"I'm good," he managed, tapping the flyer in her hand. "I don't see any tourists."

"It's December," she shrugged, not looking convinced at his self-assessment. "Not exactly peak season. They're probably in the front cars."

"How long is the ride?" he asked, now well aware he was slurring.

"Four hours," Laney winced. "Two hours into nowhere then two hours back. The Minotaur's people will figure out we're on the train. They'll be waiting for us when we get back, maybe even find a way to stop it en route. Should I go find someone up front and call the police?"

Dean shook his head. The police were only ever a last resort, especially with FBI Agent Henriksen hot and heavy after the Winchesters since the bank heist with the shifter in Milwaukee. There would be too many questions asked and they would surely be detained. "We'll get off the train now," he decided. "Hike back into town and call Sam to come get us."

Laney gave him a doubtful look. "Can you even walk?"

He nodded. "I'm fine," he insisted.

"I should get your cuffs off and check your head first."

Dean shook his head and stood up, fighting to keep steady. "No time. The longer we stay on the train, the longer we've gotta walk back."

He made it over to the door at the back of the car again, wiping the dried blood off his upper lip with the back of his hand and wondering briefly if he was making the smart play here. He just knew he needed to get back to town and warn his brother. If the Minotaur's followers had come for him and Laney, surely Sam and Amy would be in their sights too.

He climbed back out onto the metal link between the two cars, hanging on to a steel bar above while Laney stepped out with him, sliding herself between his raised arms in the tight quarters. Her hair was whipping about wildly in the tunnelled wind and slapping him in the face as they stood so he tilted his head forward over her shoulder to avoid the worst of it. They held on for a minute before the rocky banking finally gave way to a gentle grassy slope. "Okay, go!" he encouraged and watched as she quite gracefully stepped off and dropped into a roll as she hit the ground.

Giving his head one last shake to stop the encroaching blur making its way across his vision, he stepped off also. He was quite certain his landing wasn't as graceful, however, and the last thing he remembered was hitting the ground with a painful thud.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Laney rolled down the grassy slope, wincing as a small rock jabbed her in the hip. She got to her knees and turned her head to make sure Dean was behind her. He stepped off the train about twenty feet further along the tracks but didn't roll down the hill to absorb the impact as she had expected. Instead he just sort of landed with a heavy thud, laying completely motionless after he hit.

"Dean?" she called worriedly, running over to him. Dropping to her knees, she turned his blood-smeared face towards her to see he was completely unconscious. "Damnit," she cursed, looking around. The train was continuing on its way down the tracks, its passengers and crew oblivious to the hunters' brief stint on board. They had rounded a long bend and moved behind a small hill since the railway crossing so they were well out of view of the road and their former captors. Laney had been looking out of the window in the car and figured she and Dean were now just outside Clarkdale and that the closest houses were about three or four miles from where they had jumped out of the car at the crossing. There was a line of trees a hundred feet behind them, running parallel to the track and she decided that was her only option.

The Minitaur's minions had searched both her and Dean in the motel room, taking the weapons they had on them as well as their cell phones before hustling her out to the car and dumping Dean in the back seat next to her. Amy and Sam would have no idea where they were and Laney had no way to warn them they could be in danger also. There was no way she could carry Dean to town; the guy must weigh close to two hundred pounds. It probably wasn't a great idea to head right back towards the road anyway – better to wait a little while and give the Minotaur's followers some time to clear out of there. She could sneak back that way by herself but … she glanced down at Dean and her chest tightened … no way was she leaving him.

She pulled his arm up over her shoulder and heaved, struggling and swaying as she tried to haul Dean's dead weight off the ground. She finally managed to get her slim shoulders under his chest enough to be able to stagger towards the cover of the nearby trees, his feet and knees dragging on the ground.

She laid him down as gently as she could on a patch of grass behind a thick bush and sank down next to him, panting heavily. She pulled his head onto her lap, examining the blood-crusted wound just above his temple with a worried sigh, hoping his concussion wasn't as severe as she was starting to suspect. She ran her fingers gently through his hair, taking guilty advantage of the opportunity to study his face up close. Not taking into account the dried blood covering the right side of his face, he looked so peaceful, vulnerable even. It was with a start that Laney realized she had always thought of him as invincible, her hero from the alley all those years ago, someone who would automatically keep everyone around him safe. She ran her fingers lightly down the side of his stubbled cheek and listened to his slow, even breathing. _Turns out he's human after all_.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

_A/N: Things heat up next chappie, I promise as the hunt comes to a head and some secrets come out. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review :)_


	5. PART 3 Chapter 5

_**Previously: **__Three of the Minotaur's followers jump Dean and Laney in their motel room but the hunters manage to escape by jumping out of the car and onto a moving train. They hop back off the train but Dean had been hit in the head and ends up passing out in the cover of the trees by the tracks. Laney admits to herself she's in love with Dean even after all these years._

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**CHAPTER 5**

This time when Dean awoke there was silence. No gentle hum of a car and no noisy arguing going on around him. He was, in fact, oddly comfortable. The surface beneath him was firm but cushioned and his head was resting on something warm and soft. He could feel the gentle touch of fingers tracing lines absently along his cheekbone. He opened his eyes and glanced upwards to find himself lying on the ground among tall trees, his head cradled in Laney's lap. She was startled at his sudden movement and quickly lifted her hands from his chest and face to let him sit up.

"You're awake," she stated the obvious, sounding a bit flustered.

"I think so," he grunted, noticing also his handcuffs were gone. "How long was I out?"

"'Bout an hour," she told him, uncrossing her legs and briskly rising to her feet while offering him a hand to do the same. "How's your head?"

"I'm fine," he shrugged convincingly, ignoring the mind-numbing pounding in his skull and his severe urge to puke. "How far to civilization, do you think?"

"Fifteen minutes back to the road then maybe three or four miles to the houses on the edge of town."

Dean nodded. An hour and a half in his condition, two hours tops. That would mean Sam would have been out of contact for over three hours by the time Dean found him ... assuming the Minotaur's minions hadn't found him and Amy first.

They were both quiet on the walk back in, Laney as per usual and Dean because he was focussing all his efforts on staying upright. The movement and the fresh air seemed to help and he stopped worrying about passing out all over again by the time they reached the railroad crossing where they had jumped out of the car. The minions were nowhere to be seen but the hunters steered clear of the road anyway, keeping to the tree-line a few hundred yards away and out of sight.

There was a woman in her fifties alone at the first house they came to and she quickly let them in the moment she saw Dean's bloody face. Laney used the house phone to call Sam and Amy while the older lady insisted on cleaning Dean's wound. Dean made polite conversation while she worked, explaining that he and his girlfriend had been hiking and he'd tripped and fallen down a rocky banking, but he grew more and more anxious as he watched Laney in his peripheral dialling and redialling the phone after leaving messages on both numbers.

_Why wouldn't they be picking up? _In his gut, he knew the answer to his unspoken question but refused to acknowledge that suspicion yet. Maybe Amy had seduced Sam and they were parked somewhere, rocking the Yukon. He cracked a small smile at the thought. Sam was annoyingly prudish and usually insisted on 'feeling something' for the girl first but Dean had to admit, Amy was good with her hands, among other things, and could no doubt be quite persuasive. And as interested as the blonde had seemed in Dean yesterday, she had certainly gone out of her way to pair herself with Sam this morning.

The woman generously gave them a ride back to their motel, dropping them off as requested down the block. Just in case the Minotaur's people were staking out the place, Dean insisted Laney keep hidden while he crept up to the Impala and used the spare key to drive it away. He half expected her to argue but she simply nodded and told him to be careful. As soon as he had her in the car and they were out on the road and away from the motel, he checked all the spare cell phones in the glove compartment for messages. Nothing.

They immediately went to the bar they had been at yesterday and both gasped when they saw Amy's Yukon parked in the lot outside. They went in and questioned the waitress, who told them that Sam and Amy had both come in earlier this morning asking about a brown van with bull bars. She had told them nobody in town owned a van like that, insisting she knew everybody and said the couple had left right afterwards and she hadn't seen them since. The hunters thanked her and went back outside to look around with Dean muttering frightened curses under his breath.

There were obvious signs of a struggle around the Yukon such as scuffs in the dirt and skidding tire tracks heading away towards the road. They found Amy's hunting knife in the gravel a few yards away.

Dean swallowed, his heart heavy with dread. "They've got them," he ground out.

Laney just nodded but he could see the fear written all over her face and in those blue eyes of hers.

"Don't worry," he assured her quickly, sounding far less worried than he felt. "We'll find them." He called Bobby from his Dad's old phone and broke the news to the older hunter. Dean knew Bobby was scared for Sam but as usual, managed to hide it for Dean's sake. Bobby knew the only thing that could make one of the Winchester boys fall apart was losing the other and Dean was well aware the _'damn_ _idjit'_ comments currently being thrown at him were meant to keep him from letting his worry get the better of him rather than any intended insult.

Bobby told them he had come up with a bit more information that could help them find Sam and Amy. Apparently, the most well-known Minotaur of Greek mythology was killed by a warrior named Thesus by bashing its head in. His seven disciples were taken out the same way so it seemed headshots were the most promising option. He also explained that their core temperature ran about double that of a regular human and when they get mad, they were able to bring the heat to the surface, which is how they were able to burn with their touch

"_Ever wonder why raging bulls in cartoons always have smoke snorting out of their nostrils? It's like I always say, every tale or story usually has some basis of truth in it_," Bobby explained.

"Okay, so where are they?" Dean cut to the chase.

"_Well, I think I got a lead on that, too. These Minotaurs have gotten so dang popular in Hollywood crap that it's hard to sort through the dung to find the truth but as far as I can tell, the real lore says the disciples gather in a cave surrounded by a Labyrinth, or a maze. This cave is where the Minotaur comes topside."_

"A maze of caves?" Dean's eyes widened and his head perked up. "Clarkdale's a mining town! There are a ton of abandoned mines all around this place!"

"_I'd bet my skivvies that's where they'll be hiding out._"

"Bobby, you're awesome," Dean gushed, about to hang up the phone.

"_Look, I'm gonna come to Clarkdale_," Bobby told him, "_But we've only got two more days to New Moon and it's gonna take me more than a day to get there. You keep looking for that brother of yours but Dean...?"_

"Yeah?" Dean ventured when the older man paused.

_"Be careful, y' idjit. I don't need to remind you what happens if you get killed, so … so just don't let it happen."_

"Don't plan on it," Dean assured him, feeling a rush of guilt about how his friend was going to feel when the Hellhounds came to collect in a few months. "See you when you get here, Bobby."

He snapped the phone shut and relayed the information to Laney. She had remained totally silent during the call and simply nodded as he filled her in, only asking the occasional question. He could tell she was worried about her friend for her voice quivered when she did speak, but he couldn't help but think how complete opposites the two girls were, what an unlikely pair they made.

Amy was confident and light-hearted, wringing every last bit of enjoyment she could out of life. Laney was quiet and reserved, keeping everything inside. With Amy around, Dean had seen glimpses of a happier Laney, one he knew must be in there somewhere but one that she kept hidden around people she didn't know that well. But as different as the two were, they seemed to balance each other well. Laney's calmness reined in Amy's more outlandish behaviour and Amy seemed to be able to expose the kinks in Laney's armor when the brunette relaxed around her friend. Somewhat shadowed by Amy's outgoing personality, Dean had at first thought Laney was a bit unfriendly and moody but after spending some time with her, he realized she wasn't either of those things. She just didn't wear every thought on her sleeve like Sam did and didn't try to cover up her vulnerabilities with bravado like Dean did.

They spent the next couple of hours researching all the abandoned mines around the town. Turns out there were quite a few, enough that it was going to take a while to search them all and Dean found himself silently pleading to whatever powers that be to just this once throw him a bone and let him find where the Minotaur's intended victims were being held before they ran out of time.

They gathered flashlights and weapons, including ten gauge shotguns with ammo that could drop an elephant, and headed out to the closest mine in the Impala, leaving Amy's Yukon in the parking lot of the bar. Even though they could cover more ground if they split up, Dean wasn't even willing to contemplate letting Laney go anywhere by herself at this point. He'd already nearly let her get taken once and had completely failed to protect Sam and Amy. Logic told him none of this was his fault but force of habit had his heart feeling the weight of responsibility anyway.

The entrance didn't look disturbed but the hunters figured that didn't mean anything since there were probably a dozen other unmarked entrances that they would never be able to find and it was possible the disciples could be using one of those. The mine was unlit and the main tunnel in was steep and musty. As Dean led the way, he could feel Laney close behind him, her breaths unusually shallow and quick. He turned around to check on her, shining his flashlight directly in her face. "Hey, you alright?"

She looked terrified. Her hands were quivering to the point of noticeably shaking the beam of light emanating from her flashlight. She nodded and gave him a tight-lipped smile but Dean wasn't convinced. "What's wrong with you?" he asked sincerely. He hadn't thought of her as the jittery-type, especially after Sam had described how she had totally charged headlong into the fray to try and help the kidnapped police deputy last night.

"I'll be fine," she told him, her voice not much more than a whisper. "I just … I don't like confined spaces much." She wasn't about to admit that her heart was racing, she could hardly think to breathe, her skin was burning so hot she was starting to sweat, and panic was boiling just beneath the surface, threatening to boil over at any moment. She wasn't about to admit she was getting major déjà vu flashes, memories of being locked in a small, dark closet, pounding on the door and crying pleading sobs that went unanswered for hours on end, sometimes even days. Dean had enough to worry about; he didn't need her falling apart on him as well.

"You're claustrophobic?" Dean raised an eyebrow at her but gripped her arm in a comforting gesture. "You didn't think to mention that before we came _**into a mine**_?" His lips curled up into a smile in an attempt to distract her from her fears.

She gave him a wan smile in return, unable to quell the fear inside despite his comforting presence.

"You wanna wait in the car?" he suggested. He had a good idea what she was going through. When he and Sam had boarded that plane with the demon on board, he had been so scared it was almost incapacitating. Phobias were very real things that had little to do with reason or logic.

She shook her head. "No," she said adamantly. "I'm not leaving. Not 'til we find Amy and Sam."

Dean studied her for a moment, admiring her resolve but still unsure. "You're not gonna wig out on me, are you?" He didn't want to have to deal with her having a panic attack two miles deep into the mountain.

She actually managed to look offended. "I'm fine," she said stiffly and Dean couldn't help but be amused at her stubbornness.

"Alright," he conceded. "Let's get moving."

With that he turned and started to head back down the tunnel again. They had a lot of ground to cover and not nearly enough time to do it. He fought off a grin when he heard her hustle to catch up with him and fall in behind him, walking so close he could practically feel her breath on his neck. He certainly wasn't going to complain if a pretty girl wanted to press up close to him.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

They searched for hours, marking the corridors with small, chalk arrows and numbers to keep their bearings. Laney managed to control the irrational fear eating at her, annoyed at her embarrassing display of cowardice. Sticking close to Dean helped; his determined calm had a soothing effect that seemed to stop the walls from closing in on her. The other thing keeping her feet moving was John Winchester's commanding voice in her head. '_Pull yourself together, Laney! Your best friend and Adam's brother's lives are at stake. That's my son they're about to kill. Don't you dare let my son die.'_

She enjoyed a brief respite when they gave up on the first mine and came topside for the ten minutes it took to drive to the second. It was dark by this time and they were both tired and hungry but a bag of chips Dean found on the floor of the Impala served as supper for both of them. On the drive over, the local radio station announced that another man had gone missing this afternoon, a local contractor who had two children and the state record for big game hunting trophies. Including Sam and Amy, that made ten out of the fourteen.

Dean could tell Laney was still struggling but was impressed with her determination to continue. He tried to put her more at ease as they descended into the second mine by chatting casually, telling her various stories about other times Sam had managed to get himself captured, possessed, or put on a fugly's menu. It dawned on him as he rambled on that there were a lot of these instances; a shreega, a wraith, a Bhoma spirit, a white lady, Bloody Mary, Dr. Ellicot's ghost, Meg, hillbilly cannibals… to name but a few. He realized he probably had even more such stories under his own belt but it comforted him more to recite tales of the times he had saved Sam in light of their current mission. Of course, he skipped the telling of his last big save, the one where he had sold his soul to bring Sam's corpse back to life.

Laney seemed to relax noticeably as he rambled on and even chuckled at his colorful delivery of the more insane moments. By the time they hit their third mine around four o'clock in the morning, she was even carrying her half of the conversation, relaying a couple of stories of hunts she had shared with Amy. Dean found it nice to hear her talk. Despite hunger, fatigue, and his increasing worry for Sam, he found himself enjoying her company … _**a lot**_. More than he should and definitely more than he wanted to. She was smart and interesting and there was just something about her. He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was; he had noticed it even before she had opened up and started talking to him - back when he had been screwing her best friend - but he hadn't let himself dwell on it. After all, there had been a hot blonde available and with his expiry date set in mid-May, he wasn't looking for anything more than a short, steamy fling that he could easily walk away from.

Or at least, that was what he kept telling himself. He couldn't deny he had been disappointed a few months ago when it had turned out that the kid, Ben Braeden, hadn't been his son. He had never thought he had wanted kids, him being a hunter and all, but knowing he was going to die soon had changed things. His mixed feelings at seeing Lisa again and meeting Ben had forced him to admit that somewhere deep inside, he wanted more. He wanted a family of his own. He wanted a home and he wanted someone to love; someone who loved him back.

He fought to keep his mind from wandering in that pointless direction and was thankful for the darkness that was keeping him from his habit of stealing long, furtive glances at the brunette he was finding so captivating.

It was almost seven o'clock the next morning when they finally gave in to their hunger and visited a drive-thru for breakfast before heading into yet another mine. They roamed the tunnels at random, looking for any signs of recent traffic. This mine was older and less stable and they had to scramble past quite a few partially caved-in tunnels. Cell phone reception was next to nil in the tunnels so updates to Bobby were restricted to their brief breaks between mines. The older hunter had been doing more research but was still on his way and expected to be there by the next morning. Dean and Laney kept searching.

Both hunters were getting seriously discouraged by dawn the following morning. "Tonight's new moon," Laney pointed out solemnly as they sank wearily into the Impala after almost forty hours of non-stop searching. "We haven't found anything yet. We don't really know that they're even being held in a mine. I mean, this could all be for nothing."

Dean pursed his lips, not willing to let despair and exhaustion get the better of him yet. He glanced over at the girl next to him in the bench seat. Her clothes were filthy and her face was drawn and dirt-smeared. She had kept going so far without complaint but it was clear that anguish and fatigue were now gaining the upper hand.

"We need some sleep," he conceded, feeling the lack of rest deep in his bones.

"No," she shook her head fervently. "We can't. Not 'til we find them. We can't stop."

"We can afford a couple of hours," Dean insisted. Not only was it evident she was nearing exhaustion but he knew the weariness was taking its toll on him as well. Two hours would be all he needed for a second wind. They could spare two hours. "We'll be able to move a lot faster if we recharge a little." He leaned back in the driver's seat and closed his eyes. "You can take the back seat," he offered. "Stretch out a little."

"I don't want to stretch out!" she exclaimed, sounding incredulous. "Dean, we can't just take a nap."

He opened one eye to see her sitting forward in the seat staring at him like he had just sprouted horns. "We're no good to them if we're so tired we miss a sign, or a tunnel, or get lost," he pointed out, surprised at her outburst. So far she had followed all his orders and suggestions without question or argument.

"We're running out of time," she said, her voice more pleading than angry. "I know Amy's just a roll in the hay to you but she's my best friend…"

"Woah, hold on a minute," he cut her off, sitting up. "I care about Amy too," he told her sincerely. "And in case you're forgetting, that's _**my little brother**_ in there with her."

He saw her swallow as she held his gaze. "Yeah, I know," she retracted quietly. "Sorry. But howcome you don't seem that worried?"

"Coz we still have time," he assured her, not admitting to the all-out panic that was brimming just below his cool exterior. He was only holding it together for her sake. "We have until at least sundown and it's barely dawn."

"But there are so many mines left to search…" She slumped into the seat beside him.

"We're over halfway through them already."

Dean realized he wasn't being very convincing when he saw her shoulders sag. Her voice faltered with her next sentence. "What if we don't find them?" She looked over at him and he could see her tired eyes were pleading for some assurance. "Dean, I don't want to have to tell her brother and her parents that she's dead. Especially when I was supposed to have her back. I just…"

"Hey, look, Amy's gonna be fine," he assured her, involuntarily reaching out to put a comforting arm around her. She welcomed the move and sank into his hold, letting her head drop against his chest. "You know how I know that?" he continued. "Because she's with Sammy. She's with my brother and there is no way in hell my little brother's gonna die. I'm gonna find him if it's the last thing I do. Okay? Nothing in this world is gonna stop me from saving Sam so you don't have to worry. Him and Amy are gonna be fine."

He wished he could believe his own words with as much confidence as he portrayed.

She closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest for a moment before finally nodding. He thought she would pull away but wasn't disappointed when she didn't. He felt her let out a long sigh into his shirt and he slid himself lower in the seat and leaned onto the driver's door, urging her down also so she was fully lying down on the seat, her head still on his chest. "Let's just take a breather for a couple of hours," he said softly. "Bobby'll be here soon and then there'll be three of us and he'll know where to look. You'll see."

She nodded again and they lay there in the front seat together for a few minutes, exhaustion pulling heavily at both of them. Finally she tilted her head up to look at Dean, her face just inches from his. "You want me to get in back?" she offered. "Let you stretch out?"

Dean shook his head. "I'm comfy like this if you are," he said honestly, enjoying the intimacy despite the voice in his head telling him this wasn't a good idea.

She smiled but never moved. With her hand on his chest and her head tilted up towards his, he could feel her warm breath on his cheek. He stayed where he was, staring into her eyes for a long moment, fighting the sudden urge to kiss her. He thought he was going to give in and do just that before his willpower suddenly returned and he turned his head away, clearing his throat as he did so.

He tipped his head back and leaned it on the window sill behind him, his arms tightening around the girl he was holding. "We should try and rest for a bit," he said, trying to sound like he wasn't intensely aware how close they were to each other right now.

She responded by lying her head back down on his chest and closing her eyes. He closed his own, hoping the fact that his heart was beating twice the normal rate wouldn't be noticed.

_Damnit, he had almost kissed her._ He couldn't deny it felt good lying here with her in his arms but he had to be realistic. She wasn't even his type. He usually went for confident, strong-willed, fiery women who weren't afraid to speak their mind. Laney barely spoke. Of course, he rationalized, she was still strong-willed and stubborn; she just didn't advertise it.

His type or not, over the past three days he had found his thoughts pausing on her, wondering what she was thinking or what it would be like to kiss her. The kind of things _**Dean Fricking Winchester**_ just didn't dwell on. It was disconcerting. Kissing her now would definitely not be a good idea. Laney Pearce did not have that 'fling' vibe that Dean always went for. He had sensed fairly quickly that she wasn't a girl he could mess around with guilt-free, one he could have some fun with and move on without hurting. It was likely only sheer exhaustion that had landed her in his arms right now. She didn't let anyone in past those walls of hers, especially not someone like him. He couldn't help thinking grudgingly that one day, it was going to be one lucky sonofabitch that did get let in.

What was it about her then? Sure she was hot but Dean had sped his way through plenty of hot girls before without ever applying the brakes. What made her different?

It was her eyes, he decided. Those eyes scared him. Those were eyes that could get a guy hurt, the type of hurt Dean had fought tooth and nail to avoid his entire adult life. Eyes that he might be willing to make an exception for…

But she didn't do casual and with his death sentence approaching fast, casual was all he had room for. He let out a deep breath and within seconds, succumbed to sleep.

Laney felt his breaths beneath her even out into the slow, steady ones indicative of slumber. With her head resting comfortably on his chest, she listened as his heartbeat slowed down to match.

For a moment there, she had thought he was going to kiss her and it was with a fright that she had realized she had never wanted anything more in her entire life. Had he wanted to or had she completely imagined it? Why had he pulled away? She chastised herself for even asking the questions. Talk about inappropriate. They were searching for Amy and Sam, racing against the clock trying to find them before they got _**killed**_, and she was acting like a lovestruck teenager. They didn't have time for her to be having stupid girly moments.

_Grow-up, Laney. Get a grip._

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

They were both awoken by a sharp, rapping sound on the window. Dean sat up with a start, realizing right away Laney was still snuggled up next to him. She grunted at his sudden movement but started to pull herself upwards also. Dean glanced out the passenger window to see Bobby's bearded face peering in at him. He glanced at his watch as Laney extricated herself from his arms and was shocked to see it was almost ten o'clock. They had been asleep for three and a half hours.

He scrambled out the door to his feet, throwing Bobby a shameful look over the roof of the Impala. "Crap, Bobby, I slept too long," he growled.

"Don't start," Bobby shushed him quickly. "You're not a robot, Dean. You're exhausted."

"Tell that to Sam when they throw him in the soup pot," he groused, stretching his arms behind his head to work the kinks out.

"Nobody's getting eaten today," the older man barked, eying Laney curiously as she stepped out of the car also.

"Bobby, this is Laney," Dean made a hasty introduction. "Laney, Bobby."

"Nice to meet you," the older man said with a friendly smile. Laney just nodded in return.

"We've searched two thirds of the mines around Clarkdale," Dean said, catching the sandwich the older man tossed in his direction. "And we got nothing so far."

Bobby handed Laney a sandwich also. "That's coz they ain't hiding in the Clarkdale Mines," he announced, the hint of a sly smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "They're in Jerome."

"Jewome?" Dean repeated with his mouth full of bologna and bread.

"Yep. Town about fifteen minutes down the highway. Fair bit smaller than Clarkdale; population of about three hundred fifty now but upwards of sixteen thousand in its heyday. Been declared a Historic District on account of the mines. Remember that brown Econoline Van you asked me to track down? Turns out a Barry Babis of Jerome owns one just like it."

"So they're just not crapping where they eat," Dean said, feeling a renewed spark of hope. "Decided to divert the sticky mess of kidnapping people to one town over."

Bobby nodded. "Looks like. I checked out the address the van's registered to but got squat. Hasn't been lived in for years, I'd say."

Dean stuffed the last morsel of his sandwich into his mouth. "Okay, so we start searching Jerome's mines."

Bobby nodded again and turned back towards his beat-up car, stopping as he reached for the door handle and turning back around.

"Uh, there's some not-so-good news too," he said, looking genuinely apologetic. "Turns out four people went missing in Phoenix last night. It's a big city so a missing person or two might not make the news, but when four all get reported at the same time, kinda makes the papers."

"Two men and two women?" Laney spoke up. Bobby nodded.

"So they've got all fourteen," Dean ground out.

"Looks like," Bobby repeated. "But look on the bright side; at least you two are off the menu."

Half an hour later, the three of them were loading up with their weaponry again and heading down into the largest of Jerome's old mines, the United Verde Extension.

"Remember, aim for the heads," Dean said as he slung his duffle over his shoulder and pumped his shotgun.

"And don't stop firing 'til he drops," Bobby added.

They found nothing at that mine. Or the next. In fact, they searched all day and still found nothing, growing more and more anxious as nightfall approached. Silence fell over the hunters as they filed through the dark passages, fear and worry weighing heavily on all three. They even split up at times, heading down separate tunnels in an effort to cover more ground faster. Without Dean's comforting presence, Laney's heart rate sped up as she made her way through the dark passages alone, especially the ones that were blocked or partially blocked and she had to dig or squeeze past caved-in piles of rock and dirt. She managed to keep control of her fear by concentrating on her reason for being there, finding Amy and Sam, and hoped any second now their luck would turn.

It didn't; at least not until two hours after dark when they were driving down a winding dirt road towards the remote entrance to one of the last mines on Bobby's list. The darkness of the night was a chilling reminder that it was new moon and the Minotaur could be coming topside any second now, foul-tempered and hungry.

But there it was. The brown Econoline van, parked in the two ruts at the very end of the overgrown road. A resurgence of hope struck them all as they pulled their two vehicles off the road as far as they could and armed up with the shotguns and the bags of extra ammo.

The entrance was hard to find and they searched the bushes and followed several narrow, overgrown trails to no avail before Bobby called the other two over in a hushed voice to where he stood next to a steep, rocky outcrop with a solid iron door bolted into its face. Dean led the way in through the door which, unlike the previous ones they had visited that day, was unlocked.

Fifty feet down the main access way the tunnel split into three.

The ground was hard rock and Dean could make out no signs of tracks or anything to indicate which tunnel had seen more frequent use. "Damnit," he swore, not liking the idea of splitting up but too aware they were out of time to suggest they search them one at a time. Nevertheless, he hesitated.

"I'll take the left," Bobby stepped in, moving things along and making the decision for him. "You can take the right, darlin'," he said to Laney, "And I'm guessing you want the middle one," he said to Dean.

"Yeah, sounds good," Dean nodded, glancing at Bobby and Laney in turn. "If you find anything, try the phones and if they don't work, just come back and get me," he warned.

Bobby shook his head indignantly. "Ain't exactly my first time at the rodeo," he groused before disappearing down the left tunnel.

Dean smiled at Bobby's feigned offence before looking back at Laney. "Be careful," he added to her. "I'll meet you back here."

Laney rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, Dad," she quipped, suddenly remembering how she would use the same sarcastic comeback to John when he was being particularly bossy. It struck her as funny because car, clothes, and music aside, Dean wasn't much like his father.

He gave her a sheepish grin and turned to head down the middle passageway, hoisting his duffle farther up onto his shoulder as he went. He was only walking a few minutes when he came out into a wider section of the passage with light bulbs strung up on a wire along the near wall. What got his attention, however, was the long, narrow cage along the other side of the cavern, extending the full height of the cavern. Six pairs of eyes stared at him from the back of the cage.

"Hey," he greeted them in a hushed voice, scanning the cavern for any signs of the minions and finding none. He recognized Sarah Prentiss almost immediately but noticed with a sharp twinge that Sam and Amy weren't in the cage.

"You're Dean," Sarah said, taking a single step forward before turning to the others. "Guys, this is Sam's brother."

He saw the fear dissipating form their stares as he rammed the butt of his shotgun into the large padlock a few times until it dropped off. He wondered why they were all still standing at the back but noticed each of them had one wrist shackled with a short chain bolted into the rock wall behind them.

"Where's my brother?" he demanded of Sarah as soon as he was inside and working on her shackle.

"They took them," Sarah informed him.

Dean's heart almost stopped beating in his chest. "Where?"

"They've been coming in every half hour or so and taking two of us away," she elaborated. "One guy and one girl each time. They just took Sam and Amy like five minutes ago. That way." She rubbed her wrist once the shackle fell off and pointed back the way Dean had come in as the hunter moved to the large man next to her. "Sam says they're feeding us to a half-man half-bull creature."

It was posed as a statement but spoken as a question and she looked fearfully at Dean for confirmation.

Dean just nodded. "Fraid so," he told her honestly. He freed the man and dug in his duffle for a spare shotgun and Glock handgun. He handed the Glock to Sarah and looked at the man. "Can you use one of these?" he held out the shotgun.

"Private First Class Trevor Husak, United States Marines," the guy introduced himself. Dean thought he could make out the beginning of the word 'sir' on the end of the identification and the guy was almost standing at attention facing him.

"Well, Trevor," Dean acknowledged, taking that as a 'yes', "You and Sarah get these people out of here. Just remember, it's gotta be a headshot to take these suckers out." With that he turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Sarah asked as Trevor moved quickly to free the man behind him.

"To find my brother," Dean said shortly, shouldering his duffle and heading briskly back up the passageway. If the minions had started taking people in two's every half hour, then they had started just after dusk and Sam and Amy were their fourth couple. He also deduced his brother and the blonde would be getting dumped in the soup pot any second now, if not already, so he had to hurry. It seemed likely the first six captives were already dead but the others would just have to make their own way out. Sam needed him _**now**_.

He tried his phone as he ran back up the pathway. Bobby's phone rang but cut off before he could make out the older man's gruff greeting but as Dean entered the main tunnel where then three rescuers had parted ways, his old friend was just appearing out of the darkness of the left-hand passageway.

"Dead end," Bobby shrugged.

"I found what's left of the victims," Dean said shortly, turning and heading down the right-hand tunnel Laney had been given to search with Bobby right on his heels. "Sam and Amy got taken away five minutes ago. They're on the chopping block right now, Bobby."

"Just makes our damn rescue all the more dramatic, son" Bobby joked, a clear attempt to put Dean at ease. "You know you like it that way."

This direction had a lot of turn-offs and forks and soon the pair had no idea which way to go. They were standing at one such intersection while Dean tried to call Laney and Bobby was straining to hear down each possible direction for any noise to indicate the right way when a shotgun blast echoed through the tunnels. The walls and what felt like the entire mountain shook and the vibration hummed its way past them towards the exit.

"This way!" Bobby exclaimed, eyeing the roof above them warily but pointing right. They charged down the dark tunnel but soon came to another fork and had to pause to listen again. Dean pulled out his phone once more with an frustrated growl and speed-dialled Laney's number.

"_Dean?"_ It was Sam who answered. His voice was ragged and he was breathing heavily.

"Sam? Sam where are you?"

_"...unnel...minio...down..."_

"Sam you're cutting out! Where are you? Is Laney with you?" He realized as soon as he'd asked it that the last question was unnecessary because it was Laney's phone they were talking on.

_"...we ra ... she's dying ... I tried ... don't think... gonna make it..."_

Dean's heart almost stopped at Sam's words. Either Amy or Laney was hurt, dying even. He fought down the urge to wish it wasn't Laney, feeling guilty for even letting that notion form in his gut. He didn't want it to be Amy either. He fought down the turmoil the news was causing inside and kept his cool. "Sam, I need to know where you are."

_"...trapped..."_

There was another shot, this one sounding through the phone as well as along the dark tunnel. Dean's head jerked up and he caught Bobby's eye. Bobby nodded, pointing to the right. "Okay, hang on Sam, I'm coming," he said into the phone, having no clue whether or not his brother could hear him.

He snapped the phone shut and charged after Bobby down the tunnel the noise of the shot had come from.

Very soon, they could hear a commotion and see a light around a corner up ahead. They rounded a bend and practically ran headlong into another widened cavern. This one was well-lit with flaming timber torches on the walls. There was a large hole about fifteen feet in diameter in the middle of the floor and Dean had to snatch Bobby's vest and pull him backwards as the older man tried to stop short at the hole's edge. He got enough of a glimpse downwards to see the hole didn't appear to have a bottom.

As if that wasn't indication enough the Minotaur was already topside, he looked up to see two figures just past the hole. One was definitely the Minotaur for he was seven feet tall, leathery skin, huge teeth, glowing orange eyes, and horns on his head. A real-life fricking monster. He was sitting in a large wooden, throne-type chair and had blood streaming down his chin, smeared like barbeque sauce on a messy rib-eater or birthday cake on a one-year-old. Dean recognized the man standing next to him as one of the minions that had come after him and Laney two days ago.

The hunter glanced downwards to see bodies strewn on the floor - at least half a dozen of them. The sight sickened him but he'd seem worse. Thankfully none of them were Sam.

The Minotaur looked up sharply as the hunters barged into the room and rose quickly to his feet, snarling as he kicked one of the bodies in obvious anger. The dead female with short, brown hair and a chewed-off face sailed through the air and down into the hole with a 'whoosh'. The beast grunted to the disciple next to him and waved a hand at the hunters. "Next," he rumbled in a deep, guttural voice.

The disciple nodded and strode quickly towards the newcomers. Dean and Bobby held their ground and started firing as soon as the man got near enough for the rounds to do some real damage. To the hunters' relief, three close-up rounds landing solidly in the face was apparently enough to take the minion out for he fell to the ground and lay still, half his face missing.

The Minotaur roared his displeasure and within seconds, two more disciples emerged from a tunnel off to the side, blocking the way for Bobby and Dean to get any closer to the Minotaur. The minions paused and stepped back towards their leader to take in the situation just as more figures appeared from behind Dean and Bobby.

The hunters spun around to see Sarah, Trevor, and another of the male captives standing wide-eyed but fierce-looking and ready to fight. Dean's first instinct was to send them away but he remembered the 'warrior-type' pre-requisite for this gig and decided against it. There was still no sign of Sam, Laney, or Amy so he and Bobby could use all the help they could get right now. He nodded his appreciation to the newcomers before quickly turning his attention back towards the two minions who were standing firm but not yet advancing.

Bobby silently reached into his duffle and tossed a shotgun to the new blond man standing next to Sarah, effectively arming them all. More shotgun blasts then sounded from up the tunnel that the two minions had just exited. Keenly observant from years of this dangerous life, Dean noticed one of the dead bodies on the floor was a minion, presumably taken out by his brother or one of the female hunters. Add the one he and Bobby had just shot and the two staring them down now, and that left three unaccounted for. Three supernatural minions against Sam, Laney, and Amy, one of whom was hurt or dead. Those weren't good odds.

"Sam," he breathed, firing Bobby another desperate glance and jutting his chin towards the lit tunnel.

Bobby nodded. "Go," he said simply. "We'll take care of these three."

Dean thanked Bobby with a grateful nod and charged down the tunnel, convinced that Bobby and the three volunteers could take out the two minions and at least hold off the Minotaur until Dean found Sam and the girls. The tunnels were all dimly lit in this area and a hundred yards down he found a disciple lying dead on the ground, the back of his head missing.

That left two.

He heard more gunshots from up ahead but these weren't shotgun blasts, they were 9mm rounds. He stepped over the body and rounded a corner to see another minion crouched on the floor taking cover behind an old mine cart. There was the body of another lying on the floor next to him.

"You're cornered, hunter!" the minion shouted, firing a couple more times towards the far side of the cavern. "You're gonna run out of ammo eventually! I got all night here!"

Dean realized the guy must have Sam and the girls pinned down. They must have made a run for it and ended up in a dead end tunnel. With no hesitation, he stepped forward and fired at the guy, hitting him in the head. The guy jerked but didn't fall down but Dean advanced, blasting again and again relentlessly. The fifth shot took off the top of his head and he finally keeled over, slumping to the ground next to his fellow disciple.

"Sam!" Dean called, running forward.

The form of his brother appeared around the corner up ahead. "Dean?"

Sam's shirt was wide open and his chest and stomach were covered in blood, as was his face and Dean couldn't help but notice the young hunter was swaying on his feet. He raced up to him and gripped his forearms to steady him but Sam just gestured down the tunnel behind him. Dean's gaze turned and fell on Laney and Amy on the floor twenty feet away.

_Oh crap._

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Laney watched Dean walk away down the center tunnel for a brief moment before heading down the right-hand one. There were a lot of turn-offs and forks and she decided to keep right on all of them for simplicity. Within a few minutes, she heard a commotion up ahead and could see a light emanating from around the next bend. She gripped the shotgun tighter in her hands and pressed herself up against the wall, peering around cautiously.

There was a group of men, the seven disciples, standing around a table and fighting with something. She gasped when there was an opening between two of the men and she saw they were holding down Sam and Amy on the wooden surface. As if that wasn't horrific enough, the Minotaur raised its face from where it had been buried in Sam's side. His chin was streaming with blood and he roared loudly before diving his face down again into Amy's neck, cutting off her scream with a gargling sound.

Laney cried out and charged forward, firing her shotgun at the head of the closest minion. It didn't seem to have much of an effect at this range but she kept going. The distraction proved to be enough for Sam to break free from the men holding him down. Laney slowed her firing, knowing she only had ten shots plus one in the chamber and she needed to make every one count. She needed close-up headshots.

Sam fought his way free, his shirt ripped open and blood streaming from open wounds on his chest and abs. Laney was heartened to see him make it off the table but was equally disconcerted by the fact that Amy didn't. The Minotaur stood up but stayed where he stood, snarling his displeasure at the chaos.

A minion charged at her and she waited until he was in really close range before firing, landing the shot right in his face. He went down but the one right behind him backhanded her across the shoulders, sending her flying into the far wall. Her shotgun was knocked out of her hands and her heart lurched with dread as she heard it skittering across the floor.

Winded and in pain, she pushed herself up the wall and dodged another blow from the minion who had hit her. She ducked and ran past him, looking wildly around the room. Amy was still on the table clutching at her neck, though she was moving and struggling to sit up. Sam was taking a beating and Laney watched in dismay as he took a hard hit to the ribs and rolled dangerously close to the big gaping hole in the floor. It was then she noticed the six bodies on the floor next to the table, bloody wounds covering their half-dressed bodies. The Minotaur had actually taken a seat in his throne and was sitting like a petulant child with his arms folded over his chest glowering at them all.

Weaponless and drastically outmatched, Laney simply headed towards her best friend. She managed to drag Amy off the table just in time to see Sam snatch up her lost shotgun and start blasting. The Minotaur's followers paused and held back but Laney headed right for him, sliding past the one backing away from the tall hunter who was now brandishing a weapon. With Amy's arm draped over Laney's shoulder, the women ducked in behind Sam, who ordered them to "Go! Go! Go!"

The only way clear was the narrow tunnel behind Sam so Laney dragged Amy down that way as fast as she could, Sam stepping in behind them. He successfully held the minions at bay with the shotgun as they made their way down the dimly lit passageway. Amy was losing strength quickly and leaning more and more on her friend as they ran. One of their pursuers charged Sam and the limping hunter emptied two rounds into his face, dropping him in the tunnel.

They made it into a wider area with an old mining cart upturned on the floor and some stacks of wood but kept going past it. They rounded a corner but were distraught to find the tunnel ended forty feet farther on. Sam turned around to backtrack a bit but four minions showed up, trapping them. He fired once, knowing he now had only one more shot, assuming Laney had fully loaded the shotgun.

One of the minions pulled out a handgun and fired back at him, forcing him to leap back around the corner.

"Are they shooting back at us now?" Laney asked incredulously, not waiting for an answer as Amy chose that moment to completely slump forward. The brunette lowered her to the ground with a grunt. Her phone rang in her pocket and she absently pulled it out and slid it across the ground to Sam.

"Amy? Amy?" she pleaded as she inspected the large, bloody hole in her friend's neck. Amy had passed out completely but the blood was still running freely. The blonde's wrists were blistering and reddening quickly where the disciples had grabbed her to restrain her. Laney took off her jacket and balled it up, pressing it against the wound in an effort to stop the flow but Amy's breathing only grew fainter.

"Ames?" Laney pleaded. "You're okay, Ames. You stay with me. You're gonna be fine."

Amy's breathing stopped altogether.

Laney dropped the jacket to perform CPR, pleading with her friend not to die, to hang on, her voice wrought with panic and grief. She could hear Sam talking on the phone from where he was standing at the corner trying to intimidate the followers that had them penned in by inching the nose of the shotgun around the corner. She glanced up to see him hanging up as he stole a worried glance back in her direction. She kept going with the CPR but eventually, fighting back sobs, she stopped, rocking back on her haunches.

"Is she…?" Sam asked quietly from where he stood twenty feet away.

Laney nodded without looking at him, kneeling on the floor next to Amy's lifeless body, her fist still wrapped up in the blonde's blood-soaked shirt.

"I'm sorry," was all he said.

She swallowed, reluctant to answer for fear her emotions get the better of her. She couldn't afford to cry right now. They were screwed and would probably end up joining her friend very soon. If she had kept a proper count as John Winchester had taught her, then she figured they only had one round left in the shotgun.

The minions were shouting taunts and daring Sam to come take a shot at them or give up. One even had the nerve to try and grab the nose of the shotgun as Sam peered around the corner. Sam jerked it back and blasted him in the face. He screamed and staggered backwards before there was silence.

They were out of rounds.

The taunting of another minion reached them. "You're cornered, hunter! You're gonna run out of ammo eventually! I got all night here!"

Suddenly there were more blasts; not from the 9mm the minion was carrying but from a shotgun. There was a commotion out front before a familiar voice called out to them. "Sam!"

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Dean's stomach lurched when he rounded that corner. Laney was kneeling on the floor next to Amy, who was lying on her back motionless and covered in blood. The left side of her throat was ripped open and her jeans and shirt were torn around what looked like tiger-sized bite marks. His eyes locked with Laney's and his relief at finding Sam alive was overshadowed by the grief he saw in them.

He moved over quickly and crouched down next to them, pulling Amy's hand over her chest and subtly feeling for a pulse on her wrist to confirm she was indeed gone. "We gotta go," he said quietly to Laney.

She shook her head. "I'm not leaving her." Her voice was a whisper.

"Course not," Dean nodded in understanding, clasping the brunette's shoulder and gently nudging her backwards. "I got her. You help Sam."

Laney gave him an appreciative look and got to her feet. Sam was still standing by the tunnel entrance, leaning heavily against the wall. She tucked herself under his arm and watched as Dean picked up Amy bridal style and moved past them to head back down the passageway in the direction they had all come. Sam was clearly trying to support himself but was weighing heavily on the slim brunette as they stumbled after Dean.

There was a ruckus coming from the main ritual cavern, including shouts and shots and even a scream or two. At the last bend, Dean dropped Amy on the ground as gently as he could in a hurry and turned to Sam and Laney. "Stay put," he ordered before pumping his shotgun and racing around the corner.

Bobby and the three former menu-items were all still alive, though Sarah was slumped against the wall where Dean had entered, burn marks covering her entire right shoulder and her shirt was hanging in a blackened tattered mess across her other half. Dean's nostrils were assaulted with the smell of burnt flesh and fabric as she looked desperately up at him.

The blonde man and Trevor the Marine were dancing around the giant Minotaur dodging its powerful swings while Bobby was scrambling his way out of a near tumble down the hole. The minions were all gone - dead. Dean ran over and grasped the older hunter's hand, hauling him back up to safety. He scooped up Bobby's duffle from the far side of the room and grabbed more ammo, leaving the two locals to keep the Minotaur distracted while he and Bobby reloaded.

As practiced as the two hunters were, this took mere seconds and they both rushed headlong at the Minotaur as soon as they were ready, firing in turn one after another right at the creature's head as they got closer and closer. The bull-man started snarling and a deep-throated scream erupted from his throat as he started to back away.

Dean noticed a third bang in their gunfiring double-beat and looked sideways to see Laney standing next to him, the Glock he had given Sarah held steady in her hands. Her expression was fierce and after seeing what had happened to Amy, her jumping into this did not surprise him.

The Minotaur finally fell to his knees next to his throne but the hunters kept firing. Dean moved himself around to the side and walked up to the swaying beast, placing his shotgun point blank against its temple. He fired, removing a good chunk of the beast's gnarled face as he did so. He stepped back and lifted his boot, giving the Minotaur a good, solid kick and shoving it over the edge of the hole and watching in satisfaction as it was swallowed up by the empty darkness.

For what seemed like a long moment, everything in the room fell silent save for the ragged breaths of the survivors. Then the ground started trembling. The rock around the hole started shimmering and everyone alive took a quick step back from it. Wind like a mini-cyclone spun its way into the air out of the hole and for a second it looked like it was going to expand and tear the cavern apart but instead it sucked itself back down the hole like a giant vortex, and in a split second, the hole was gone. Solid rock covered the empty space where the gaping opening had been.

But the tunnels were still trembling and the walls vibrating.

"Best get the hell outta here 'fore the whole mountain comes down on us," Bobby said, spurring everyone in to action. Trevor strode immediately over to Sarah and stooped to pick her up. Dean raced back around the corner where he had left Sam only to find his brother slumped on the floor with his back against the wall, his head hanging forward on his chest. Amy was where Dean had left her on the floor.

Dean squatted down in front of Sam, tapping his cheek and pulling his head up. Sam groaned and his hazel eyes fluttered open. He gasped and tried to sit up but Dean held him still. "Easy there, Tiger. I gotcha."

He helped his brother to his feet and looked up to see Laney standing before him, her eyes desperately sad as they drifted past him to settle on Amy. He turned to the blonde guy that had come to help them out. "Hey, Buddy. You mind taking Sam for me?"

"Course, dude." The guy stepped forward quickly, tucking himself under Sam's other arm and pulling his weight off Dean.

"Thanks, Lance," Dean heard Sam rasp as they headed away, Bobby taking the lead back down the passageways towards the exit and safety.

Dean gave Laney a comforting nod as he stooped to pick Amy back up. He wasn't about to leave the blonde in here to end up either buried under the mountain or autopsied as some Jane Doe on an ME's slab. She deserved a real hunter's funeral. Besides, he'd do just about anything right now to ease the look of hurt and loss on Laney's face.

They reached the cars just a few minutes later and without further mishap. The three captives who had opted not to come back and help were still out there, trying in vain to hotwire the brown van as they had no phones on them. Dean put Amy in the back seat of the Impala and nodded to Lance to help Sam into the front. He watched Laney slide in beside her friend and could hear Bobby telling the civilians to get Sarah to the hospital right away but not to mention any of the hunters to the authorities. They all agreed and the salvage yard owner got the van started for them within seconds. All three cars made their way back down the narrow road to the highway. Dean turned the opposite way once they hit the road, figuring they needed to make it a couple of towns over before finding a motel and crashing for the rest of the night.

There was complete silence in the car for the hour it took them to drive to Prescott and find a motel. Bobby headed into the office and got two adjacent rooms. Dean suggested the older man take Laney back to Clarkdale to get Amy's Yukon since it would be reported as abandoned at some point and the police would surely start asking questions about its owner. While they were gone, he would patch up Sam, find a place for Amy's salt and burn, and build the pyre.

Laney agreed, being even more quiet than usual and when she and Bobby returned two hours later, they all headed straight out into the wooded area Dean had selected for the fallen hunter's send-off. Dean had thought Sam should stay put as he was hardly fit to walk but the young hunter insisted on coming. He had been in that cage with Amy for two days and Dean could see he was taking her death hard. The young hunter even managed to say a few words before they lit the pyre, commending the blonde on her spirit, her sense of fun, and her unwavering bravery. Dean refrained from calling him a girl and just this once allowed the open show of emotion on his brother to go unridiculed. Although he would never admit it out loud, Sam's sensitive side was one of the things he cherished most about his brother.

The brunette chose not to say anything, joking half-heartedly that Amy would sit back up in shock if she did. "She knows how I feel," she said simply, nodding to Bobby to spark it up. As they stood watching the flames grow in silence, Dean could feel her pressing her shoulder against him and curled his fingers around hers, holding her hand gently as silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

Back at the motel, Sam was given the heavy pain meds by Bobby and was out within minutes. It being close to two in the morning, Bobby kicked off his shoes and dropped himself down on the other bed, leaving Dean the floor for the night. Dean grabbed a pillow and the spare blanket and was just settling in when he sat up, unable to stop worrying about the brunette in the room next door. He just needed to know she was okay. Unlike Sam, she didn't voice every feeling that popped into her head and he just wanted some assurance she would be alright. Amy was her best friend, almost like a sister, and Dean knew how hard such a loss could be.

"I'm gonna go check on Laney," he said suddenly, ignoring the snort from Bobby that gave away the older man's scepticism about Dean's motives. Dean slipped outside and knocked gently on her door.

She answered still dressed, giving him a tired smile and letting him in. "Hi," was all she said in greeting.

"Hey," he said, a little uncomfortable now that he was here. "I, uh, just came by to see how you're doing."

She sighed and sank down on the edge of one of the beds. "Tomorrow I have to tell Amy's parents that she's gone," she said. "And as if that's not bad enough, then I have to tell her brother."

Dean sat down next to her but remained silent.

"Aaron has a little girl," Laney continued, feeling that unusual sense of ease that seemed to fall over her when in this man's presence. "Her name's Patricia but Amy always called her Patches. She's five and oh my God, she adores her Aunty Amy." She looked up at Dean with a sad smile. "And now I have to tell her that her aunt's never coming back." She shivered at the thought, even more so at the unspoken dread of having the similar task of telling Adam that his father was dead. Guilt about keeping that secret from all three remaining Winchesters swept through her for the hundredth time in the last three days.

She didn't even realize she was crying until Dean put his arm around her and pulled her head onto his shoulder. "I'm sorry we weren't in time to save Amy," he said sincerely, trying to comfort her but not knowing what to say.

She broke down and sobbed into his neck for a few minutes, her arms wrapped around him. In normal circumstances she would be mortified at letting anyone see her so exposed, so vulnerable but surprisingly, she wasn't bothered by it tonight. She let the sorrow and grief at losing her best friend pour out of her and soaked up the comfort she was getting from Dean. He had his arms around her also, holding her gently as they sat side by side on the bed.

It didn't take her long to pull herself together enough to withdraw, pulling back just far enough to give him a sheepish grin at her outburst.

"Feel better?" he asked, smiling down at her as he moved a thumb across her cheek to wipe a straggling tear away.

She covered his hand with hers, holding him against her face and giving him a unintentional look of longing. He must have read into it for he leaned forward slowly, his lips barely grazing hers as he paused, waiting for an invitation to proceed. She gave it to him, curling her fingers around the back of his neck and pressing her lips firmly against his mouth. He needed no further encouragement and he leaned forward, kissing her thoroughly.

The kiss was wonderful, intoxicating even. Laney couldn't help think how right Amy was when she said this man certainly knew how to kiss a woman but she was surprised at how gentle he was about it, how real he made the intimacy feel. She wasn't sure but she thought a moan actually escaped her and she pulled away hastily, her breaths shallow.

"Uh, sorry?" he said hesitantly, not sure if he'd done something wrong.

She wanted him to know who she was. She knew so much about him and the way she felt about him right now was both alarming and unnerving but she suddenly wanted him to know the truth about her. She went through her whole life trying to keep anybody from truly seeing her, the real her, but now she badly wanted him to do just that.

"No," she shook her head. "No, it's fine. I just … I just want to tell you something."

"Okay…" he looked apprehensive but at least he wasn't moving away from her.

She reached up and tugged at the silver chain around her neck, pulling gently until the small locket was in her hand. "Uh, Dean, see when I was ten, I ran away from home." She looked up at him to find he was staring at the locket. "And this boy and his little brother took me in."

He had a vaguely stunned look on his face now.

"I spent Christmas with them…" she continued but her cut her off.

"Mellie," he breathed, his hands coming up to cup her face.

She nodded, giving him an apologetic smile.

"Why didn't you tell me? " He reached forward and took the locket in his fingers. "Mellie. Wow. Is this the one I…?"

She nodded.

"I can't believe you would keep this all these years."

"Are you kidding?" she chuckled, a bit embarrassed at what keeping the locket made abundantly clear. "Guy goes through all the trouble to steal for me I'm gonna hang onto the goods."

He chuckled and kissed her again, more fiercely this time before resting his forehead on hers. "Mellie," he repeated, his voice still betraying disbelief.

"It's Laney now," she blurted, not having heard her old nickname in a long time. "My dad called me Mellie and I left that scared, weak little girl far behind me a long time ago."

Dean shook his head. "Well I haven't," he told her.

"What ... what do you mean?" _Did he think she was weak still?_

"I mean I thought about you... and that I'm sorry," he explained. "I told you I would help you and we sent you back."

"You didn't send me back; John did. And I…" She was going to divulge that she and John had worked their way past that to forgiveness a long time ago but realized that would open up the door to Adam. As honest as she was being with Dean right now, exposing Adam to this life still wasn't an option. "He was just worried about you and Sam being taken away by child services," she dismissed.

"I should have argued more. I should have come to get you." He cast his eyes downward. "I know what happened after … after we sent you back."

"Dean, you're not to blame for what happened," she said, horrified that he would be hanging on to blame about her past for all these years. "You were never to blame. You _**did**_ help me. If I hadn't met you, if you hadn't shown me how…how good things could be, I never would have gotten up the courage to tell someone. To get on the stand in my father's trial and send him to jail. You helped me with that."

He looked like he was processing her words, still reluctant to shed his guilt. She reached up and touched his face, moving closer. "I've never forgotten you all these years," she whispered.

"Me neither," he admitted, pressing his lips against hers once more. His tongue swept into her mouth, taking her breath away both literally and figuratively. All conversation was forgotten and within minutes Dean was fumbling with the buttons on her shirt.

It was everything Laney had ever imagined it would be and more. His calloused fingers were rough but his touch was gentle and his hands were everywhere, pulling moans and cries and feelings from her she didn't even know were in there. His mouth never left her skin as his hips dipped repeatedly into hers, rocking forward at a slow, unhurried pace. She savoured every second and panted his name when she peaked, clinging to him as he sped up until he joined her in release.

Dean sank down onto the bed next to her, pulling her closer so she was half on top of him but still kissing her through his panted breaths. Eventually they broke apart and she laid her head on his chest, staring up at him and not wanting this feeling to end. She had never experienced real intimacy and sex with Dean had just shown her a whole new level she never knew existed. Her heart was thumping in her chest as she tried to sort through her feelings and figure out what happens now.

Dean got comfortable but kept held Laney close, unwilling to let her go just yet and not wanting to break the contact or the strong connection he was feeling to her. Finding out she was Mellie had thrown him for a loop and opened a trove of long-buried feelings he had almost forgotten about. He had felt a strong attraction towards her long before he had found out who she really was, maybe even from the first time he'd met her in that corn field four days ago, but when the little girl he had cared about all those years ago was suddenly a beautiful grown woman in his arms, he'd lost what little restraint he had left.

He leaned up and kissed her again, blown away by the intensity of the feelings coursing through him. It was as if he couldn't get enough of her, enough contact, enough of her taste, enough of her touch. Like he'd found some piece of him he hadn't ever realized he was missing.

Eventually they pulled apart and she snuggled into his side, laying her head on his shoulder and draping one leg over his. "Guess I should have told you who I was sooner," she smiled.

He chuckled, the sound rumbling in his chest beneath her. "Trust me, I wanted to do that long before I found out we'd met before," he assured her.

"Hey Dean?"

"Un-huh?"

"What were you and Sam talking about in the car, on the way back to the motel after you got shot?" She eyed him curiously. "You guys were talking like you were gonna die or something." That conversation had been eating at her for a while now but she hadn't had the nerve to bring it up.

Dean tried to cover his flinch and the slight tensing in his shoulders at the question that snapped him back to reality. He couldn't tell her about hell. He didn't want her to know. He especially didn't want to ruin this moment.

"Well I am," he shrugged casually. "Someday. I'm a hunter, after all. Just a matter of time."

She frowned up at him, trying to remember their exact words. "Sam said…"

"Sam thinks I take too many chances," Dean finished for her.

"So what did you mean that if Sam dies then it would all be for nothing?"

Dean managed a laugh. "I just meant all the years he spent eating spinach and sugar-free lattes would be wasted," he lied. She still looked unsure so he bent down to kiss her again, effectively ending the unwanted questions. With her naked form still pressed up against him, it wasn't long before he was rolling over on top of her with a hungry groan, her legs wrapping around his waist in encouragement.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Laney lay awake, listening to Dean's gentle snores as she traced her fingers across his bare chest. After all these years of harboring feelings for an idea, an idea of what kind of man that eleven-year old green eyed boy had become, here she was finally in his arms. For reasons that escaped her considering the horror of the earlier evening, she felt safe and, even more strangely, she felt loved. For the first time in her life, she was with a guy and not looking for a way out already.

But he had baggage. Nothing she would care about except for the fact he could endanger Adam. She loved that kid like a brother and could never put him at risk for the sake of her own happiness. Bringing him in to Dean's life would do just that. She looked up at him. His face was peaceful and she couldn`t help but think quite beautiful as he slept.

She knew she couldn't keep lying to Dean. If she stayed with him, she would soon cave and tell him he had another brother.

So she got up, slipping out from his arms as gently as she could so not to disturb him. She pulled on her clothes and palmed the keys to Amy's Yukon, stopping to look back at him. Swallowing, she reached up to unfasten the silver chain at the back of her neck. Walking over to the table, she stooped to pick up his discarded clothes and folded them in a neat pile before laying the chain and locket on top, the engraved words '_forever yours'_ displayed face-up. She needed him to know how much this night had meant to her and thought he would understand this gesture more than anything she could write in a note. She padded quietly over to the bed and planted a soft kiss on his cheek before slipping quietly out the door.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Dean felt her slide out from their warm embrace but didn't open his eyes. He knew in his gut she was leaving. Maybe she was just scared, maybe she had commitment issues, or maybe she felt guilty enjoying herself so much after her best friend had just been killed. Whatever the reason, he let her go. As much as he wanted to sit up and beg her to stay, the truth of the matter was that in five months, he would be dead. He knew this night hadn't been some casual fling for her, or just some random need for comfort. She cared about him – and him for her – and if he let this go any further, she would only end up getting hurt again.

It was for these reasons he remained still and feigned sleep while she bent down to kiss him lightly on the cheek.

He didn't want to see her get hurt. Not Laney, not Mellie, not _**ever**_. He wanted her to be happy, to be safe. She deserved that - he _**owed**_ her that - and she wouldn't get it with him.

So he let her go, never expecting to see her again.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

_**A/N:**__ Whew! I am FINALLY finished Part 3! Hopefully you are all happy that Dean and Laney got together at least, even if not for long. A lot more about their bond is explained in Part 5 but as for the next part, it will be an AU of the episode 'Jump the Shark' where the boys find out about Adam. So let me know what you thought of this chap and please review :-)_

_FYI, the character of Amy was inspired by an __**awesome**__ 'wench' and fellow SPN fan and ffnet author who I have to simultaneously thank for her continued support and apologize to for killing her off in this chapter. But at least she got to sleep with Dean, right? That's gotta be worth dying for right there! :-) _


	6. PART 4 Chapter 6

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**PART 4 **

_This part takes place just after the Episode 'The Monster at the End of this Book' where they meet Chuck for the first time. I go a fair bit AU in this chapter and remember, Adam is two years younger in this fic than in cannon so he's seventeen and still a couple of months shy of graduating high school. _

**CHAPTER 6**

_**April 2009...**_

Dean drove well into the night, battling fatigue just to put as many miles as he could between the Winchesters and the absolute craziness they had just experienced. _Chuck the prophet? The Winchester Gospels? Sam trying to mojo-down Lilith herself and almost getting his throat slit with Ruby's knife as a consequence?_ Fricking insanity times ten.

Sam had spent the fifteen hour drive with his nose buried in Chuck's books. This made Dean more than a little uncomfortable because Chuck had a tendency to write – albeit _**badly**_ – what his characters were thinking and feeling. Having Sam reading the books just three feet over from him made him feel a whole new level of exposed.

His fears were realized when Sam broke the silence with an interested sounding "Huh."

Dean shot him a suspicious look and glanced quickly to see which book he was reading. _Please don't let it be Route 666_, he thought, not wanting Sam to know just how much he had really cared for Cassie Robinson and especially not wanting his brother reading Chuck's tawdry and poorly-written love scene. Seriously, _throbbing member_? _Glistening beads of sweat on his toned, muscular body?_ What - did Chuck spend all his spare time reading Fabio-covered smut novels? Fricking perv.

He caught a glimpse of the spine and saw it was book number four, 'Bloody Mary'. A measure of relief hit him since that one was probably more about Sam and his guilt over Jessica than anything else.

"What's so huh-worthy?" he ventured.

His brother lifted his eyes from the book and looked over at Dean. "Well, it's just that I never asked you why _**your**_ eyes bled when the Bloody Mary showed up in those mirrors."

_Oh crap_. He'd forgotten about that. Damn that Chuck Shurley.

"It was because of Mellie," Sam continued. "The little runaway girl that stayed with us that one Christmas. Says here you felt guilty because you didn't say anything and things got really bad for her when she went home."

Dean kept his eyes forward and his hands on the wheel. "Yeah well," he said quietly. "I kept a secret and someone got hurt. Those were Bloody Mary's rules, remember?"

"Yeah but Mellie didn't die. Chuck wrote that you asked Travis to find out what had happened to her and it turns out she ended up in foster care away from her abusive dad. She lived."

Dean hadn't told Sam that the brunette hunter they had met last year, Laney Pearce, was in fact Mellie. In his usual habit, he kept the things that meant the most to him buried the deepest. He sighed. "Guess that didn't make a difference to that skank in the mirrors," he shrugged.

"Hmph. Well, I think she fed more on the amount of guilt than the actual wrong-doing," Sam conceded. "Dean, I realize things got bad for Mellie but it's not like you …"

"Bad?" Dean raised an eyebrow at his younger brother, cutting off the inevitable 'it wasn't your fault' speech. "You didn't see the report. Her dad beat the crap out of her, Sam. She had broken bones and bruises and even cigarette burns on her body when they got her out of there." Again, he didn't mention that he had seen the small scars she still bore from the abuse up close. In fact, he had touched them and kissed them lightly and whispered assurances of how beautiful she was in her ear when she had tried to cover them with a shameful look.

"She'd been locked in the closet for almost a month," he finished.

"Dean, that wasn't your fault."

"We sent her back." He fought to shake thoughts of the brunette off his mind. He had tried her phone number once since he had been pulled from Hell. It had been in a moment of weakness and near complete despair in the hospital after Alistair had informed him that he had broken the first seal. Turned out her cell had long since been disconnected and there was no forwarding number. "I promised her I'd help her then I did nothing. I was supposed to protect her," he tried to explain.

"You were twelve! What were you supposed to do?"

"Gee, I dunno Sam, maybe stand up to Dad?" Dean replied, his tone getting heated. "Maybe tell him he was wrong? Maybe call the police?"

"Nobody disobeyed Dad," Sam argued. "You especially never disobeyed him."

"Well I should have."

Sam just let out a long, frustrated sigh and opened the book back up to continue his reading, leaving the car in silence again until Dean finally pulled over on a remote, rocky shoreline to try and get a couple of hours sleep before dawn.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Dean woke up in the front seat shortly after dawn, his knees and neck stiff from the cramped quarters of his only regular bed. He practically fell out of the car to find Sam cleaning his teeth in the fresh seaside air. After almost losing yesterday's lunch by making the mistake of opening the mystery-bag in the back seat, he was momentarily confused by a phone ringing in the glove compartment.

His dad's phone.

"Hello?" he said gruffly.

"_Hello? Who's this?"_

"You first."

"_Uh, my name's Adam. Adam Milligan"_

"Well, Adam. Why are you calling this number?"

"_This is John Winchester's phone, right?"_

"Yeah. Look, Sorry to break this to you, pal, but John died more than two years ago."

"_I know that. I know, I just … I'm not really sure why I'm calling. Does he have any family?"_

The hairs on the back of Dean's neck bristled. "Why? Who are you?"

"_I'm his son."_

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Dean refused to accept Sam's reasoning that this kid could indeed be their half-brother. Sam had immediately pulled out his laptop and by the time the Impala raced into Windom, Minnesota, the younger Winchester had the kid's entire life story.

"He's seventeen, born September twenty-ninth 1992 to Kate Milligan, a nurse at the local hospital. No father listed on the birth certificate. He's an Eagle Scout, an honor student at West Windom High School, and he's been accepted at the University of Wisconsin for a degree in Biology, pre-med. I'm telling you Dean, he checks out."

"This is a trap," Dean growled. "Lowest of the low, using Dad as bait…."

"Okay, do the math. Christmas 1991. The pages in Dad's journal are ripped out but you know as well as I do that was the Christmas we spent in Butterfield, a town just a half hour away from here. That's roughly about, oh, nine months before the kid was born. It all fits, Dean."

Once inside Cousin Oliver's Diner, Dean ignored Sam's eye rolls and disturbing comments about John's love life as he set traps for whatever douchebag monster that had the nerve to try and use his family against him. Silver cutlery, holy water, consecrated iron rounds in his .45; he wasn't taking any chances. This sonofabitch was going down.

The teenager walked through the door and Dean's stomach lurched. The kid had the Winchester build and the green eyes both he and Sam had inherited. Adam started telling them his story, how he had first met John when he was eleven and how John had come to visit two or three times a year and most birthdays and how he had taught him how to drive in this beautiful'67 Impala. Dean's blood started to boil and if he was being honest, he wasn't sure whether it was because he didn't believe the kid or because he did.

He had heard enough. He cut the kid off and called him out on his lies, spilling that he and Sam were John's sons. Adam stuck to his story and explained that his mom had been missing for three days and even though he knew John was dead, he had no other family to turn to so he had called the old number anyway, just in case. He seemed genuinely awed and pleased to have discovered he had two half-brothers.

"I had been hoping for a cousin or an uncle, but _**brothers**_?" he said, giving them an almost shy smile.

When Dean still refused to believe him and almost walked out of the diner, Adam piped up that he could prove it. He offered to take them back to his house and show them the proof. Dean badly wanted to skip town and forget this day ever happened but Sam had already accepted the kid's invitation before the older hunter could make it out the door.

At the house, Dean stared in disbelief at the picture in the wooden frame in the living room. That was John Winchester alright. John Winchester at a baseball game - with Adam. There was another of John Winchester fishing - with Adam. John Winchester doing all the things Dean had only ever wished he could do with his father growing up - with Adam.

His eyes scanned the rest of the photos and he gasped out loud at the one on the foyer table. "What the hell…" he mumbled, snatching it up and turning to the teen. "Hey, you know this chick?" he demanded, pointing to the pretty brunette standing next to Adam in front of the Otto the Giant Otter statue in nearby Fergus Falls.

"Yeah, that's Laney," Adam answered with a nod.

"How do you know her?"

The kid just shrugged. "Known her my whole life, why?"

"Your _**whole**_ life?" Dean was stunned. He stared at the photo as the truth started to sink in. _Had Laney lied to him?_

Adam just nodded.

"Did she know John?" Dean pressed, not entirely sure he wanted the answer.

"Yeah," Adam replied, taking the photo from Dean and giving his older brother a half-hearted smile. "She's the one who found him six years ago."

Dean swallowed and gritted his teeth. _Well this day just kept getting better and better._ He glanced at Sam to see what his reaction to this latest revelation was but the tallest Winchester didn't seem all that bothered. He had simply turned his attention to searching for clues as to what could have happened to Kate.

Adam told them he had been away on a three-day camping trip with a troop of Cub Scouts and when he got back on Tuesday, his mother was gone. She hadn't shown up for work on Monday and her supervisor at the hospital had called the police. Dean decided to take the upstairs as they began to search the house for clues. There wasn't a lot of evidence to suspect this was their kind of job but this family having ties to the Winchesters immediately opened up that possibility.

There were more pictures of John in Kate's bedroom – in her_** bedroom**_. It was as if he was part of the family - this _other _family, the Milligans. And with them he looked happy. Dean couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his father look happy.

Sam and Adam came upstairs and Sam showed his brother a newspaper article he had found from 1991 with John Winchester poking his head out from behind a tree in the accompanying photo. Bodies had been going missing so it wasn't hard to conclude that John had come to town to investigate a hunt after all. And it seemed whatever monster he had been after was back. Only this time, some of the bodies going missing weren't already dead. There was Kate Milligan as well as a local bartender named Joe Barton.

They continued searching. Dean noticed scratches on the floor and a few minutes later, was staring at half a body's worth of blood in the old house's air duct.

He was just giving Adam the bad news in the upstairs lobby when they heard the front door slam and a female voice called urgently from downstairs.

"Adam!"

Adam's head jerked up and he turned and headed for the stairs, the Winchesters a few steps behind.

"Adam!" the voice called again.

Recognition struck Dean before he saw her. He knew that voice.

The teen reached the top of the stairs and came into the girl's view. "Adam, thank God," she gushed. "Why didn't you call me? I mean, what the hell? I had to hear from the police that your mom's been missing for three days? And why haven't you been answering my calls…"

Her voice trailed off when her eyes fell on the tall hunters descending the steps behind Adam. She was standing by the door with a stunned look on her face. "Dean," she faltered.

"Hi Laney," Dean managed, simultaneously thinking how incredible she looked and how much he wanted to throttle her. He wasn't sure which of these thoughts had his heart speeding up its rhythm in his chest. He went with the latter, stepping down the last stair and picking up the photograph of her and Adam from the foyer table. "Nice to see you again," he said, holding it up, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Look, Dean, I can explain," she stammered.

"Oh, I doubt that," Dean fired back, swapping the photo for another. "Look, here's a good one. It's you and Adam and Kate and –oh! – _**my dad**_!"

Adam looked back and forth between them, a confused expression on his young face. "What's going on here? You guys know each other?" He turned towards Laney. "Lane?"

Laney sighed. "It's complicated," she said, looking more than uncomfortable.

"You know my brothers?"

It was Sam that saved her from answering right away. "Uh, guys," the hunter interceded. "We should save this for later. Blood in the duct, remember?"

Her blue eyes shot wide at his comment. "What?"

"We found blood in the air duct," Sam explained. "A lot of blood. We need to call the cops; they'll be able to tell if it's Kate or not."

Dean could see the horror on Laney's face as she lost all of her color and her mouth dropped open in a silent gasp. She spun towards the teen. "Oh God, Adam," she breathed, stepping over to him and pulling him into a fierce hug. The kid returned it, speaking shaky-sounding words in her ear that Dean couldn't quite make out.

He cleared his throat, badly wanting to get out of here. "Okay, you guys call the cops," he said. "But we gotta split." He gestured towards Sam and moved towards the front door but as he passed Laney, he couldn't help the resentful words that came out of his mouth. "I'd say please don't mention us but it seems you've got that part down already," he said icily.

He didn't miss the shameful look that crossed her face. "Dean..." she started but the hunter just kept walking, shoulders stiff as he strode out the door and down the front walk.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Adam showed up at their motel a few hours later demanding to know who they really were. Apparently the mechanics ruse was blown. Neither Winchester answered him as he ranted on and on, demanding they tell him the truth.

"Where's Laney?" Dean asked, trying to change the subject.

"Still talking to the cops," Adam told him, rolling his eyes. "My mom listed her as my legal guardian if anything happened to her."

Dean wasn't sure what to think of that so he just shook it off. "Look, Adam, I'm sorry about your mom," he started but Adam cut him off.

"Don't change the subject," the kid said, clearly growing more agitated as the older brothers stonewalled him. "Who are you guys? Lane won't tell me anything."

"There's a reason for that," Dean answered gravely.

"Look, my mom's probably dead! I just want to know what's going on. I need to know what's going on!"

"We're hunters," Sam blurted.

"Sammy!" Dean scolded.

"He deserves to know, Dean."

"What do you mean, hunters?" Adam looked hurt and scared and confused all at once and Dean felt that same sense of failure and dread he had the day he had come back to the motel to find seven-year-old Sam and Mellie reading his dad's journal.

His heart sank as Sam started to explain that monsters were real and that John Winchester had hunted them down and killed them full time. The kid was pretty quick to believe and soaked up everything Sam was telling him eagerly, especially their theories on what might have come after his mom.

It was a half hour later that Laney showed up, knocking quietly on the motel door and looking right past Sam when he answered until her eyes fell on Adam.

"Why didn't you tell me monsters were real?" the kid demanded before the door was even closed behind her. "Why'd I have to hear it from Sam three days _**after**_ something kills my mom?"

The brunette looked tired and was clearly not prepared for the verbal attack from Adam. Her expression of hurt and shock were replaced quickly, however, by one of anger and she spun to face Sam. "You told him?" she accused.

"Did you know John was a hunter?" Adam was on his feet now, his fists clenching at his sides.

"Adam, what difference does it make what John did for a living?" she diverted but Adam was having none of it.

"Are _**you**_ a hunter?" he pressed.

The Winchesters both remained silent and didn't interfere.

She sighed. "Sometimes," she admitted, her shoulders slumping. "Look, we didn't tell you because you're not going to be a hunter and you don't need to know all this crap."

"Says who?"

"Trust me, you don't want that life."

"That should have been my choice to make," Adam fired back. "Not yours and John's. You don't know what I want."

"You want to be a doctor, remember?" Laney's voice was almost pleading. "You've been talking about it since you were twelve. In the fall you're going to the University of Wisconsin and you're gonna get kick ass grades and you're gonna graduate and become a doctor and you're gonna save people in a whole different way."

Adam shook his head. "Not anymore. Now I want to find the thing that killed my mom and pay it back. I need to learn how to kill these things, how to protect myself," he quoted Sam from a few minutes prior. "Tell me Lane, did you learn this monster stuff from my dad?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I did," Laney nodded. "I did so that you wouldn't have to. John taught me a few things so I could watch out for you and Kate."

Adam snorted. "Huh. Guess you weren't a very good student."

Dean raised an eyebrow at the mean-spirited words and heard a small gasp escape Laney.

"Adam, I'm sorry," she said, a hint of desperation in her voice. "I understand you're upset right now and revenge seems like..."

"No, you _**don't**_ understand, Lane. You can't understand. This thing killed my mom! You forget sometimes, but Kate wasn't your mom, she was mine." He folded his arms across his chest. "I think you should leave."

Laney stared at the tall, young man in silence, hurt pouring out of her eyes but she stood her ground.

Adam kept going. "In fact, you're not even my family," he scoffed, pointing to the Winchesters. "_**They**_ are. They're my real family and they're not lying to me. So if you don't mind, I'd like to be alone with my brothers. You don't belong here."

Dean reacted without thinking. "Hey, take it easy," he said to the angry teen who was staring down the slim brunette.

"Adam, can we just talk about this?" Laney begged.

"No. You've had six years to talk and you didn't. So please just go."

Laney threw a beseeching glance at Dean, who averted his eyes and looked to the floor. It wasn't his place to get involved in this. She had been lying to the kid for years and he couldn't forget that she had lied to him also. She glanced over at Sam but he just stared stonily at her with an unreadable expression, also making no move to intercede on her behalf. "Fine," she whispered. "I'll leave you with your brothers for now but just promise me you'll come see me when you've calmed down."

Adam just shrugged, holding his stiff stance and Laney finally turned towards the door, briefly catching Dean's gaze as she pulled it open. He could see the hurt and the moisture gathering in her eyes as she slipped outside. The room was silent for a few long, heavy seconds before the harshness of what had just happened struck Dean like a blow to the head and sympathy for Laney gave him a push into action. He stepped out the door, taking a few quick steps after her before calling out her name.

"Laney, wait," he said, jogging to catch up with her.

She stopped and paused for a second before turning around to face him. "You told him about monsters, about hunting!" she accused angrily. "How could you?"

Dean found his neck hairs bristling at her critical tone and instinctively got defensive. He was the one who should be mad here. "Hey, I didn't know he even existed until this morning. And he kinda figured something was hinky when his mom got dragged into an air vent for a quick bite."

She gave him a shocked look and he cursed his insensitive choice of words, realizing she had cared deeply about Kate. Both Milligans had apparently been like family to her. She didn't reply but instead spun on her heel and stomped away.

"Laney, wait," Dean called after her but she kept walking. "Laney!" No response. "Laney!" He threw his hands in the air in frustration. "Fine, walk away!" he practically shouted. "You're good at that!"

She didn't stop and he watched her back as she strode stiffly away, regretting his outburst. She climbed behind the wheel of a Yukon and drove off quickly without once looking back at him. He sighed and headed back towards the room, his insides all twisted in knots.

Inside, Sam was already teaching Adam how to load and unlock a Glock. Dean couldn't stomach to watch so he grabbed his jacket and left. He wasn't going to be any part of this.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

The next morning, Agent Nugent visited the local cemetery where the dead bodies had gone missing both eighteen years ago and within the last few days. Turned out whatever took the bodies also opened them up. The list of supernatural beings that fit the bill was still quite long but at least they were getting somewhere. Dean moved on to a local tavern and with a bit of effortless sleuthing, discovered that the other missing person was an ex-cop who had been involved with the missing-body case back in '91. Seemed John Winchester had given the credit to Joe Barton for solving the case before shacking up with Kate Milligan for the rest of the holidays.

He returned to the motel only to find Sam and Adam on their way out with Adam's truck to practice shooting. He followed them to an empty field on the edge of town but didn't join in the training session. Instead he leaned against his Impala, watching from the edge of the field as Adam quickly began to hit his mark more often than he missed.

Sam was a patient teacher and seemed to be enjoying the big brother role. Dean couldn't help but remember how much he had enjoyed the time spent showing his little brother how to do hunting things like shoot or make silver bullets. It was nice to be looked up to, to be able to share your wisdom and pass on your knowledge. Only he had been a kid at the time and he hadn't known any better. He hadn't known how with every new skill he had taught Sammy, he had been ripping any chance of happiness away from him, pounding another nail into his coffin. Sam knew better than that now; he had to see what he was doing was wrong but he just didn't seem to care.

Dean's heart grew heavy as he watched the pair in the field. He had lost Sam. To what, he didn't exactly know, but the man before him now wasn't the same little brother he had watched grow up. The Sam he knew just wasn't there anymore. To make matters worse, he was also losing this new brother, Adam, before he even got a chance to get to know him. Losing him down that same, dark path of revenge.

He looked down at the amulet around his neck, remembering the Christmas Sam had given it to him, a gesture that told Dean is little brother loved him and looked up to him and appreciated him, that Dean was there for him more than his father was. At least, that was what the amulet had meant to Dean and the reason he had worn it around his neck all these years.

Reaching into one of the inside pockets of John's old brown leather jacket, he pulled out a small silver locket with the words _'forever yours'_ engraved in the front. He pried it open, his thoughts returning to Laney. She had never put any pictures in there but there was this tiny piece of tacky, red tinsel that he thought must have come from that pathetic excuse for a Christmas tree he had brought home that year. She had kept the trinket and the memory close all these years and for the past year and a half, he had done the same without really thinking about why.

Despite having lied to him, she was still the brunette he had developed frighteningly strong feelings for last year and she was still the little girl he had never forgotten. It was obvious she loved Adam like a brother. Adam was her Sam. He closed the locket up, careful to keep that piece of tinsel tucked away inside and stuffed the necklace back in its hiding place. He rose to his feet, looking over to see Adam being handed the ten-gauge. He couldn't watch this anymore. He waved the pair over and suggested they head back into town.

He was alone in the Impala on his way back to the motel when he saw the familiar Yukon in the parking lot of Cousin Oliver's Diner. Without thinking, he pulled over and went inside.

The young waitress from the day before, Denise, recognized him and walked away with a toss of her head. He rolled his eyes and scanned the diner, seeing Laney sitting alone at the far table where he and Sam had met Adam the day before.

"You've still got Amy's ride," he stated, announcing his arrival as he reached the table.

She looked up at him, her expression surprised but not unwelcoming. "Yeah," she answered, giving him half a smile. "Her brother Aaron thought she'd want me to have it."

Dean took the civil reply as permission to join her and sat down. He leaned his elbows on the table but couldn't think of what to say next so he sat back in his chair. The silence quickly extended past the length that could remain comfortable and he started to fidget. He frowned across the table to where she sat with her face buried in the menu. Why had he even come in here?

"You just come in here to glare at me?" she broke the silence.

Dean sat up with a huff. "Well, forgive me if I'm having a hard time getting past the fact that you knew I had a brother and you didn't tell me." The words hadn't come out harshly but he regretted them anyway, wishing he had started with something a little more friendly_. Why couldn't he think straight around her? _The feelings she stirred up in him scared him. The thoughts that would go through his head - thoughts of things he'll never have; like love, peace, happiness, and normal - like the normal life they just took away from Adam.

"John didn't want you to know," she said unapologetically. "We were trying to keep Adam safe."

"Okay, I get that," he conceded. "But then why wasn't the house protected? No salt, no devil's traps..."

"Yes there are!" she insisted fervently. "That's just it. There's a devil's trap painted on the top side of the ceiling drywall in front of every door and window and there's a line of salt built-in under all the thresholds and jambs." She leaned forward, putting the menu aside and resting her elbows on the table. "Dean, whatever got Kate should never have gotten in the house."

Her voice was thick and the sadness in her eyes quickly reminded Dean that she just lost someone she was close to, probably the equivalent of what Bobby was to him, and he felt his anger fading even further.

"You know what? I understand why you and my dad lied. I do, I get it. You were trying to protect the kid. But I thought…that night in Arizona, I mean, it felt like…like we..." He fumbled his words, not knowing or not daring to say out loud how he had felt with her in his arms and in his bed that night.

"It felt like we connected?" she finished softly, her eyes cast downward. "Like we had something special?"

Dean was taken aback by her honesty. "Well, yeah," he admitted. "More than that even. But you were lying the whole time."

She kept her eyes averted and just nodded.

"That's why you left, isn't it?"

She nodded again, finally lifting her head and looking at him. "I knew I wouldn't be able to lie to you if I stayed … if we spent another minute together like...like that, like we were." Dean didn't respond, having no idea what to say. "See, it meant something to me too, Dean," she continued, "But Adam, he's been the most important thing in the world to me since he was born. He had to come first."

She stared out the window, her shoulders slumping. "And now he hates me and now you hate me," she sighed. "I've screwed everything up."

"I don't hate you," Dean said quickly, reaching out and placing his hand over hers on the table. "And Adam doesn't either. It's just you've been lying to him for six years; you can kinda see why he's a little pissed right now. He just needs some time to cool off."

"Yeah, I know. But Dean, what Sam is doing, teaching him about hunting – it's just wrong." She gave him a determined look. "He's got a future, he's got a chance. He wants to be a doctor, not a hunter." Her eyes were now pleading with him and she gripped his hand in both of hers. "Please not a hunter," she added in barely more than a whisper.

Dean swallowed. "I'm with you on that," he admitted.

"He just lost his mom," Laney continued, her voice hitching. "He's a good kid. A really sweet kid, actually. He's upset; that's why he acted the way he did yesterday. That's not what he's like. He doesn't need to be fed all this revenge crap. Please Dean. He won't even talk to me right now."

Dean wasn't sure what she wanted him to do. The damage was done. They couldn't un-spill the beans. "He's seventeen," he said, trying to sound reassuring. "He'll come around."

"I hope so, but until then Sam's teaching him things I don't want him to know. I know Adam's your brother by blood but he's been my little brother for seventeen years. Please."

The hunter sighed. "The cat's already out of the bag, Laney."

"He needs to get out of town and stay alive," she said firmly, sitting back in her chair. "I did some digging and when John was here in '91, he was investigating some missing bodies. Now, in the past week and a half, not only did six more bodies go missing, but two live people as well. Kate and an ex-cop named Joe Barton who got an award for solving the case back then. You know that's not a coincidence. Dean, Adam could be next."

Dean managed to hide his surprise that she had come up with all of the intel and the exact same conclusion he had. After all, she was a hunter, trained by the best. Trained, in fact, by the same man who had trained Dean, the infamous John Winchester.

"I'll see what I can do," he told her, knowing already it wasn't going to work. He had already tried to get Adam shipped to Bobby's but both the kid and Sam had insisted that he stay here to flush out whatever thing was after the people who know John Winchester.

There was a long pause at the table and he felt Laney watching him as he contemplated how to convince Adam to leave town. If it weren't for Sam, he would just gag the kid and toss him in the fricking trunk all the way to South Dakota, but he knew Sam would fight him on this.

Laney broke the silence. "John knew he made mistakes with you and Sam, you know," she said. "The way he raised you. He regretted a lot."

Dean smiled and let out a snort. "He share that with you over tea and crumpets?"

She laughed and her face momentarily brightened. "Hell no. John didn't share anything except gun-maintenance tips. But it's still true."

It felt odd talking to somebody about his dad, somebody who knew both sides of the complicated human being John Winchester was. Odd, but nice. "You know, I used to worship him," Dean found himself admitting. "I wanted to be just like him. But ever since… " _Nope, he wasn't going to talk about hell and back-to-back Winchester demon deals._ "But Sam, huh, Sam couldn't wait to get out from under his thumb, out of hunting. Sam resented our lives until the day he walked out on us for Stanford."

"Then why is he dragging Adam into it?" Laney asked.

"I don't know," Dean shrugged. "He gets more and more like Dad every day. He's …" Dean cut himself off again with a sigh. He'd shared enough. He really didn't want to get into how different Sam was acting. The psychic power, sleeping with a demon, hell-bent on revenge. Watching Sam train Adam today, he had felt every bit as much like he was losing a brother as gaining one. He fixed his eyes on the brunette across from him. "Look, I'm not gonna let anything happen to Adam, okay. We'll keep him safe. I promise."

He realized his anger towards her had dissipated completely and when she gave him a grateful smile, he felt the old feelings quickly returning. Denise finally brought over Laney's coffee and even managed a courteous nod to Dean when she poured him a mug also. The pair sat together for another hour, just talking. Laney offered to answer any questions Dean might have, promising no more lies.

"I swear, I'll never lie to you again," she said seriously. "_**Ever**_. I'll tell you whatever you want to know. Ask me anything."

He grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Anything?"

"Keep in mind you're within kicking distance," she warned him.

"So asking what color panties you're wearing wouldn't be a good question?"

She blushed and rolled her eyes at him but they both relaxed. He took advantage of her offer of the truth by asking all about his newly found brother, as well as a few curious questions about her time training with John. She answered everything openly and he found himself enjoying her company every bit as much as he had those two days in Arizona or those two weeks back in '91. He wanted to stay in the diner longer but knew he had to get back to his brother – make that _**brothers**_ – so he threw one more question out there.

"Why'd you keep that locket all those years?"

She exhaled sharply and looked a little flustered for a second, clearly not expecting a question quite so personal. "Sure you don't want to go back to the panties question?" she chuckled nervously.

He didn't let her off the hook, not certain why he was asking but quite surprised at his own bravery in doing so. Usually chick-flick moments terrified him. "Oath of truth, remember," he grinned.

"You're right," she nodded. "I said ask me anything. Uh, it's hard to say exactly. That was the first present that anyone had ever gotten me that ..." she struggled for the words, "...that made me feel special. That locket got me through a lot of self-doubt and a lot of tough times when I was younger."

He nodded, moved by her honesty and for once feeling like he had done something right in giving it to her. He had thought she was special. He was thankful _**he**_ wasn't under any self-inflicted truth oath because telling a woman she was special was something he only did when trying to coax some bimbo out of her clothes.

He told her he would call her later and threw down money for the tab as he got up to leave.

"While I'm under oath, I should probably be truthful about one more thing," she said to him as he pulled his coat back on.

"Oh, what's that?"

"I saw you pretending to be a fed this morning," she grinned up at him with a cheeky glint in her eye. "And I have to say, you look really good in that getup."

Dean was still blushing as he walked out the door.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

He pulled back up to the motel to find the monster trying to drag Sam under Adam's truck. The sonofabitch had been waiting for Adam under his car - undeniable proof that Adam was next on the hit list. He renewed his argument to send the kid to Bobby's but to no avail. They wouldn't budge. In fact, Sam seemed as hell-bent on revenge as Adam did. They headed back to the motel and Sam actually started spouting the exact same crap about hunting '_not being a job but being a life_' that John Winchester used to feed them. The same stuff Sam used to argue tooth and nail against. Word for fricking word.

Damnit, he wished Cas would pop in. Maybe flash those big, intimidating wings of his and use that deep gravelly voice to spout some crap about it being Adam's destiny to become a doctor or something.

Instead, it was Laney who showed up at the house. This time she was in a fighting mood and flat out refused to be sent away, especially after her attempt to convince them to leave town failed even more miserably than Dean's. She planted herself on the couch and folded her arms across her chest, adamantly refusing to leave Adam's side until they either caught this thing or left town.

"You're not my mother, Laney!" Adam yelled.

"No, but I'm your legal guardian now and you're stuck with me until you turn eighteen, kid, like it or not! It isn't safe here and I'm not leaving you until it is."

"I'm with two trained hunters," the teen shot back, making it abundantly clear he didn't include Laney in that list.

"Who I'll report for kidnapping if you even try to give me the slip," she retorted. "So unless you want your new brothers sent to jail, I suggest you just deal with the fact that I'm not going anywhere."

Dean chuckled at her obstinacy, entirely unoffended at her feigned threat towards him and Sam. This was the Laney he remembered; heck, this was the _**Mellie**_ he remembered. Stubborn and pig-headed and hot as hell. He decided to leave them all silently glaring at each other while he went to check out the graveyard, hoping to find some clue or sign of the monster.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Adam finally dropped the open hostility towards Laney. He still insisted on learning all there was to know about hunting, at least until they destroyed the thing that had killed his mom, and he was still angry about her deception and wasn't talking much, but at least he wasn't trying to push her out the door anymore. There was a knot in the pit of her stomach as she sat quietly watching this stranger she had known for seventeen years practice cleaning and loading a ten-gauge shotgun. How he was acting was just proof of how much he was hurting inside, how much the loss of his mother was eating at him. He just wasn't himself.

She finally agreed to head to the diner and pick-up some food. Adam had argued she should go for the supper run because, being the bait, he had to stay at the house and had insisted Sam was bigger, faster, and had more experience so he should be the one to stay with him. She tried to argue that they should order pizza so they could get it delivered but wasn't surprised when he shot down that idea. After all, Adam had never liked pizza much.

Dean's car still wasn't back by the time she returned and she walked into the house to find Sam tied spread-eagle on the dining table, blood all over his wrists.

"Sam!" She dropped the take-out bags and snatched the gun from the small of her back. "Sam where's Adam?" she demanded as she raced forward to free him, her eyes scanning the room for signs of Adam or the monster.

What she saw froze her in her tracks.

"Kate," she rasped, seeing the woman she had thought was dead walking calmly towards her.

Kate made a 'tsk tsk' sound and shook her head. "Laney, Laney," she chided. "Hi sweetie."

The brunette swung the nose of the gun towards Kate. "You're not Kate," she stammered. "What are you?"

"They're g..." Sam's shout was cut-off and Laney spun again to see Adam standing by his head, a hand clamped over the hunter's mouth.

"You know, you just should have left," Kate continued, advancing threateningly towards Laney. "You are such a pain in the ass. We gave you every chance to walk away. Don't you get it? You're just not important. I mean, you don't mean anything to anybody. You're not even worth killing."

With that she lunged at the young woman, who dodged and sidestepped her, raising her arm and the gun again, levelling it at Kate's chest as she backed away. "You're not Kate," she repeated, having no idea whether something had taken over Kate, like a demon or a ghost possession, or whether this was something else entirely. _Would she be hurting Kate if she shot this thing? _

She glanced around again to see Adam still standing over a struggling and badly bleeding Sam. The hunter didn't have much time; he was going to bleed out of she didn't get him out of here. Adam was grinning and there was blood on and around his teeth.

The blonde woman charged again only this time Laney fired, hitting Kate in the shoulder and then the leg but the hits didn't even slow her down. The woman kept coming and dealt a hard blow to the brunette, knocking her off her feet. Laney rolled and scrambled back up, making a dash instead for Sam's shotgun that she could see on one of the chairs at the side of the room. She snatched it up and pumped it, pointing it right at Kate when Adam's bulk suddenly stepped in front of his mom's.

"Ghouls!" Sam yelled. "Headshots!"

She swung the shotgun upwards, the muzzle just a foot from Adam's young face and was about to squeeze the trigger when she hesitated, the horror of what she was about to do hitting her and a vision of blowing Adam's face off playing in her mind. It was only for a split second but she knew she had screwed up before that split second was over. Adam's hand swung upwards and ripped the shotgun out of her grip, sending the shot harmlessly into the ceiling. His fist connected with her face and she slammed backwards into the wall.

Before it even registered what had happened, they were upon her, both Adam and Kate grabbing at her roughly. She struggled and kicked and lashed out for all she was worth but they were just too strong. She saw the gleam of knives in the dimly lit room and felt a sharp pain as each of her wrists was sliced open. She felt the life and the fight leaving her and saw the two faces she knew best in the world covered in her blood, laughing through the sound of them drinking noisily from her open cuts.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Dean had a bad feeling about that graveyard even before he was locked in the crypt, before he had found Adam ~ the _**real**_ Adam ~ lying half eaten in a coffin. He raced the Impala back to the Milligan house, still not entirely sure what the creature was. The facts just didn't add up. He shuddered at the thought of having to explain to Laney that the kid she knew was already dead.

He was out of the car before it had even fully stopped and barged in the front door, shotgun ready. Even so, he wasn't prepared for what he saw. Sam was tied on top of the dining table, blood pouring out of his wrists and a hole in his side. Kate was there, or a monster pretending to be Kate, and both she and Adam were leaning over Sam with blood smeared down their chins.

"Hey!" he yelled, firing a shot center mass at Adam and sending him flying.

"Dean, they're ghouls!" Sam managed to warn him.

_Ghouls. Awesome._ He lifted the shotgun aimed at Kate higher and pulled the trigger, splattering her entire head across the wallpaper behind her. "Which means headshot," he muttered, turning his attention to his brother.

"Crap," he breathed, seeing the state Sam was in. Those sonsofbitches had sliced him deeply. There was blood all over the table and dripping into the bowls they had placed on the floor beneath his wrists. He swallowed and reached for his knife to cut Sam free just as it occurred to him that he didn't see Laney.

He didn't have time to finish the thought because something strong grabbed him from behind and threw him through the French doors into the living room. He hung onto whatever it was tightly and dragged it with him as he hit the floor, rolling out from under it and to his feet.

It was Adam, or rather the ghoul who had eaten Adam. He grabbed something solid and started swinging but the ghoul was strong and deflected most of the blows. It struck him back, sending him crashing into the coffee table, which splintered into a hundred pieces under the impact. Dean rolled again, moving as quickly as his battered body would allow, trying to get out of the way before the ghoul struck again. He was pushing himself to his feet when his eyes fell on Laney.

He knew he made a chortling sound of some sort but wasn't aware of much else as the sight tore through his insides. She was slumped on the floor leaning back against the wall and her wrists were hanging limply on her lap, blood smeared around both of them and pooling on the floor at her sides. Her head was tilted sideways, her eyes were closed, and her chest was still.

Dean heard laughing from behind him. "Don't worry, Dean," Adam's voice taunted. "There's nobody left to even miss her. I promise you, it was quick. She wasn't worth taking our time with. Not like I'm gonna do with you and Sam."

Dean felt a growl rise from his throat and he spun as he jumped up to his feet. He grabbed one of the legs from the busted coffee table and started swinging, pouring his anger and pain into every flex of his muscles. He landed a lucky shot, then two, and within seconds, the ghoul was on the ground beneath him as he sank blow after blow into its skull until there wasn't anything left above Adam's neckline but a pile of mush.

He was stopped by a pained cry from Sam. "Dean!"

He stood up and rushed over, grabbing the nearby knife to slice through the ropes on the closest wrist. He reached over to cut Sam's other arm loose but the hunter managed to put his bleeding free hand on the hilt of the knife.

"Go," Sam breathed, jutting his chin towards the living room and giving Dean permission to go check on Laney. "I got it." Dean only hesitated for a fraction of a second before nodding and racing back through to the other room.

He sank to one knee in front of her, gently placing his trembling fingers on her neck to feel for a pulse but fully expecting not to find one. _Oh God, no. No. No._

For once, he was surprised in a good way. There _**was**_ a pulse. It was slow and very, very faint, but it was there. He scrambled to find something to stop the bleeding on her wrists and grabbed a stack of cloth napkins from a nearby side table. Tossing some to Sam, who had managed to sit up, he spared his brother a worried glance before rushing back to Laney. He wrapped a couple tightly around the barely-breathing girl's wrists and tied another two securely as tourniquets above the cuts. "Hang on, Lane," he breathed past the lump in his throat. "Please hang on."

"Can you walk, Sam?" he called back through as he picked Laney up, cradling her in his arms bridal-style. His brother managed an affirmative grunt and was shockingly at the Impala's passenger door by the time Dean had deposited Laney gently in the back seat. "Okay, let's get you two to the hospital," he said urgently, starting up the engine with a loud roar.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Sam insisted on skipping the hospital and was adamant the worst of his bleeding had stopped and Dean could patch him up after getting Laney inside. Dean didn't agree but had learned over the years never to argue with a Winchester when they were insisting they were fine, even when you knew they were lying through their teeth.

He carried Laney into the emergency room, calling to a passing nurse to help him. She was an older lady and gasped when she saw the girl's face.

"Oh my sweet Lord, it's little Laney Pearce!" she exclaimed, beckoning to a nearby paramedic for a gurney. "What happened?" she demanded of Dean.

The hunter just shrugged, not having been able to think past his worry enough to come up with a bullcrap story yet but as he lowered her onto the stretcher the wounds became obvious. "Oh, I see," the nurse said. "She's tried to kill herself. Poor soul."

"I found her like this," Dean offered, figuring suicide worked better than _'eaten by a ghoul'_.

"I'm not surprised, her losing Kate like that," the nurse said, her tone full of sympathy as the paramedics prepared to wheel the patient away.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Dean asked, his voice thick with worry.

"We'll do what we can, son," she assured him, heading down the hall behind the gurney. "Have a seat and I'll come out as soon as we know," she offered.

Dean nodded and stood there in the hallway, his heart pounding as he watched the three figures and the stretcher disappear around a corner. She had to be alright. She just had to.

He gathered his wits and looked around, trying to decide which direction was the most likely for a supply closet. Snapping back into hunter mode, he headed left and made it back out to the waiting car within five minutes with enough stolen supplies to patch up a dozen Freddy Krueger victims.

Sam sat quietly in the car as Dean applied the bandages, wincing when the more tender spots were prodded. "Thank-you," he breathed gratefully when Dean finished. "For this and for coming in when you did. If you hadn't come back..."

"That's what family's for, right?" Dean said, knowing the sarcasm was flying right over Sam's head. Sam had told Adam, or who he thought was Adam, that the only ones you could count on were family. This whole past week had been so screwed up Dean's head was still spinning.

They changed clothes and went inside to wait for word on Laney's condition. After an hour and a half, the same nurse that had taken her from Dean showed up, giving him a kind smile.

"It was touch and go for a while," she told them, "But I think she's going to pull through."

"Can I go see her?" Dean asked.

The nurse shook her head. "She lost a lot of blood, sweetie. She'll be out all night. Why don't you come back in the morning? I have a feeling she'll need some company. I'm going to give Adam a call in the morning, too."

"You know them?" Sam questioned, sounding surprised.

The nurse turned out to be quite the chatterbox. She nodded. "I worked with Kate Milligan for over twenty-five years," she said. "I remember little Laney when they first brought her in here. What a shame. Kate would hardly leave her side. Would have taken her in herself but she was pregnant and single and foster care didn't really approve." She gave the brothers a sympathetic look. "You heard what happened to Kate didn't you? Some kind of home invasion a few days ago. Poor Laney must have taken it really hard. Never figured her for the suicidal type but I suppose she was always real quiet. Didn't anyone but Kate and Adam really know her."

Dean cleared his throat, not surprised at any of the information. He pulled out a scrap of paper and borrowed a pen from a nearby desk, writing his number down and handing the paper to the nurse. "Uh, we gotta go for a little bit," he said guiltily. "Can you call me if there's any change?"

The nurse took the paper. "Course sweetie. You her boyfriend?"

Dean shook his head. "Just a friend."

"Well, she could sure use one of those if she pulls through," she said. "We're gonna call the police too, so they'll probably be by in the morning to talk to her sometime. It'd be nice for her to have a friendly face as well and Adam's got enough to deal with these days."

They thanked her and headed back to the Milligan house to clean up. There was way too much of a mess to be a simple suicide attempt. Sam rested while Dean torched the ghoul bodies and built the pyre for the real Adam. They gave him a proper salt and burn, deciding since he died like a hunter he should be given a hunter's funeral.

Afterwards, just as dawn's first rays were starting to peek over the horizon, Dean insisted they return to the hospital. Sam was incredulous and repeated adamantly what a bad idea it was.

"Dean, the police are gonna be showing up. Even if Laney goes along with the suicide thing, they're gonna get suspicious when they can't get a hold of Adam. Not to mention the broken French doors at the house. They're gonna start asking questions and we're the only strangers in the picture."

"Well, let them ask," Dean stated evenly as they pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"Dean, it's too dangerous. It's too risky."

"It's not up for debate, Sam. You stay here of you want to; I'm going in."

Sam huffed in annoyance. "I don't get it," he snorted. "I mean, she lied to us. She knew we had a brother and didn't tell us. If we had known about Adam, he might still be alive today."

Dean shook his head. "He'd probably just have died sooner," he argued.

"You hardly knew her, Dean. I get you kind of liked her, that much was obvious last year, but you're gonna risk going to prison for some girl you hardly know?"

"She knew our brother."

"You don't owe her anything!"

"Yes, I do. I do owe her." Dean hadn't been able to shake the guilt he was feeling all night. "Damnit, Sam, she's Mellie! Okay? Laney is Mellie."

Sam wrinkled his nose in confusion. "Mellie the runaway?"

"Yes. The runaway. And Kate and Adam were the only family she had and the last thing she saw was them slicing her open and trying to kill her. She's gonna wake up to find out they're _**both**_ dead and there is no way in hell I'm gonna let her go through that alone. So cops be damned Sam, I'm going to that hospital."

The younger Winchester stared at him for a long moment before nodding in silent agreement.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Three hours later, Dean was still stretched uncomfortably in the chair in Laney's room. Sam had opted to hover downstairs and keep a paranoid eye out for police. Laney was hooked up to an IV drip and hadn't moved since the transfusion they had given her last night. Apparently she had crashed, or 'coded' twice before they had managed to stabilize her and move her out of ICU.

When her fingers finally twitched and her eyelids fluttered, he was out of the chair and at the side of the bed in seconds, his heart beating wildly in both relief and dread. It took her a few moments to fully wake up and somewhere during that time, he took her hand in his.

"Dean?" she whispered, her voice raspy from the tubes that had been inserted in there most of the night.

"Yeah, it's me." He gave her a reassuring smile.

Her forehead creased and she looked like she was gathering her thoughts for a moment before she spoke again.

"Adam?" she questioned, alarm and fear both on display across her face as she struggled to sit up.

"Hey, I think you should stay put," Dean urged, laying a firm hand on her shoulder and pushing her back down.

"Adam?" she repeated, her eyes locking with his.

Dean swallowed. No use prolonging the inevitable. He shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said gently.

"No," she choked, again struggling to sit up. "No, no, no."

This time she refused to stay prone and her hands were gripping his shirt sleeves by the time she was sitting up. "No, Dean, no, please," she stammered, her words becoming choking sobs. "Please no."

He sat on the bed next to her, swinging one leg up and sliding his hip in next to hers as he pulled her gently in towards him. She fisted his shirt and buried her face in his chest, her shoulders heaving as full on sobs began to wrack her entire body. "No, no, no," she repeated as she clung to him in desperation.

He fought back tears of his own as he held her and couldn't help but remember that the last time their paths had crossed, she had suffered the loss of her best friend. The time before that had been followed by a month of pure torment. Now here he was again, present at what would probably be the worst day of her life. Every time he showed up, her life went to hell.

"It's my fault," she sobbed, her words muffled by his shirt. "I was supposed to look out for him."

"Hey, hey, don't say that," Dean said, cupping her face and pulling her head up enough to look into her eyes. "This isn't your fault."

"I should have been here," she refuted, her voice barely audible. "I should have told you."

"There's nothing you could have done to stop it," Dean said, believing that to be the truth. "This isn't your fault."

"I'm sorry." She buried her face back in his shirt. "I'm sorry I hid him from you. He should have known you."

"No," Dean shook his head, wrapping his arms around her again. "No, you did the right thing."

Adam died because he was a Winchester, plain and simple. He died because he was John Winchester's son. The same reason Sam had died and the same reason Dean had died and the same reason everybody around them died. Adam's fate had been sealed the moment his dad's swimmer had hit that fricking egg.

They were poison. _**He**_ was poison.

He held Laney tightly through a second round of sobbing, his heart breaking for her with every passing minute. He had felt a strong urge to protect this girl his entire teen and adult life, from the moment he had promised to look after her and she had curled into him and said _'okay_'. He hadn't recognized what it was until now, but his failure to save her the first time they had met had nagged and eaten at him all these years.

His breath hitched and he cleared his throat to maintain his composure when the realization struck him that he couldn't ever fulfill that promise. They were only a few seals away from letting Lucifer haul his evil ass topside and he and Sam were right smack in the middle of it. Things were only going to get worse. He couldn't look after anybody. He couldn't keep anybody safe. Being close to him was a death sentence.

Her sobbing finally subsided and she slumped into his hold. It was a few more minutes before he realized she had passed out altogether, her already weakened body no doubt drained from the emotional toll her grief had taken on her. He stayed as he was, closing his eyes and drinking in the feel of her in his arms again, not wanting to let her go this time.

Sam appeared in the doorway. "Dude, Five-O," he said, his urgent expression softening when he took in the pair on the bed. "We gotta split," he added more quietly, sounding almost apologetic before he tactfully moved to wait a few yards down the hallway.

Dean slid himself off the bed, lowering Laney back down gently and pulling the blanket up over her, leaving her hands out to keep the IV hook-up clear. He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead and took a lingering look at her face before grabbing his leather and starting for the door.

He stopped short and turned back, fumbling inside his jacket. He pulled out the locket and pressed it into her palm, draping the silver chain around her fingers. This had meant a lot to her and she had told him it helped her through a lot of tough times in the past. There was no doubt she had plenty of those in store for her when she woke up again and if it could give her even an ounce of comfort, then he wanted her to have it back. It had always been meant for her anyway.

He kissed her again and stepped out into the hallway with Sam. Maybe this time would be the last time he saw Laney Pearce. For her sake, he certainly hoped so.

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

_**A/N:**__ Should I just run away and hide? I know this story seems kind of sad but things get REALLY crazy in the next part (which is part 5 and the last part). And it may seem I'm dumping Laney with an unfair share of crap but remember, Dean is going through all the cannon stuff too, so he's got it even worse. My reasons for Laney losing Adam will ecome evident in the next chapter. As for Sam, I know he may have come across as kind of cold in this chapter but I am trying to keep with the timeline of the show for each part in this fic and let's face it, season 4 Sam wasn't our cute and cuddly season 1 Sam so... _

_I hope you enjoyed this part and I have to thank you all for the alerts and faves! You guys rock! Please let me know whatcha thought and leave a review :) _

_Oh, and next chapter has Cas in it (finally!) and is a complete AU so anything goes :)_


	7. PART 5 Chapter 7

**P A R T - 5**

_**Author's Note**: OK, this is the last part but it will be 4 chapters long. It starts up six months after Sam jumps into the cage and Dean goes to live with Lisa and Ben but then it goes completely AU. Cas's story is also slightly different from the show, so the first section explains all that has happened and the rest will be filled in as needed._

**CHAPTER 7**

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

_**November 2010...**_

It had been six months since Sam Winchester jumped in that hole. Six months since he had sacrificed himself for humanity and his brother. Six months since Dean had quit hunting and gone to live with a mother and her son in Indiana. Six months since a line had been drawn in Heaven 's sand and civil war among the angels had pitted brother against brother. Six months since Castiel felt like he'd had a true friend.

The angel sat in a small pavilion near the water in JiChang Yuan, a picturesque park in the Jiangsu Province of China, enjoying a rare moment of solitude in what had become his tumultuous existence since the averted Apocalypse. Where Dean's fight had ended on that fateful day, Castiel's had just begun. Raphael was trying to re-start the Apocalypse, determined to free both Lucifer and Michael from the cage and allow them to have their final duel, not caring that they would take out half the life on the planet with them.

After having been brought back from true death twice, Cas had developed quite a following upstairs. A generous portion of the Angels saw his resurrections as a sign God was truly still alive and that Cas's mission to save the planet and humanity was indeed His Will, but Cas knew there were whispers of doubt within his ranks. Their faith in him to defeat Raphael was falling, despite his initial display of power.

Two weeks after Sam had taken that swan dive, the demon Crowley had approached the angel. Apparently the self-proclaimed 'King of the Crossroads' had been busy for he now went by the moniker 'King of Hell'. He had argued that it was in both their best interests for Lucifer to stay where he was and he felt there could be advantages to having a better working relationship between the ruler of Hell and whichever angel was in charge upstairs. He suggested they go after Purgatory together, harnessing the power of the millions upon millions of souls in there and dividing the spoils fifty-fifty, therefore ensuring Cas would that angel in charge.

Cas had naturally declined and come very close to smiting the smug bastard where he stood. Crowley, however, was certainly persuasive, and had bargained his way into keeping the offer on the table. He had offered Cas fifty thousand souls from Hell as a sign of good faith on his part, free of charge, reminding the angel that if he didn't show some staying power soon and throw his glove in the ring, Raphael would simply smite him and move on with the game plan.

Cas had still refused, arguing he would lose the trust of his followers if he formed an alliance with a demon and raised his hand to bring the argument to a smiting end. Ever so devious, however, the King of Hell had sweetened the pot. He offered to free Sam Winchester from the cage.

"You can't," Cas had argued. "Even you don't have that much power."

"Oh but I do, Inspector Gadget. You forget, that box was made to keep _**Angels**_ in - and out - but not humans. I'm the King of Hell and that box is right smack in the middle of my little kingdom so just say the word and your little mate stops being Lucifer's bitch."

Well Cas wasn't born yesterday and he certainly knew better than to make a pact with a demon, but he had to admit, the offer had merit. And to free Sam ... his young friend did not deserve the suffering he was no-doubt enduring this very minute at Lucifer's mercy. Lucifer would never tire of torturing his rebellious vessel and would never stop coming up with new, crueller ways to do it.

Then there was Dean. On the night Sam had died, Cas had asked Dean whether he would rather have peace or freedom and Dean's choice had clearly been peace. Cas doubted the elder brother would find it hiding out in suburbia as he watched him one night sitting alone in the front seat of his Impala in the closed garage, downing a glass of whisky and fighting off tears. The ex-hunter had seemed so utterly broken and Cas had decided not to show himself, keeping himself invisible to the hunter's view in an effort to help him with his efforts to move on. Maybe having his brother back would give him the peace he deserved and if Cas could do anything to help him….

"Give me the fifty thousand souls, free Sam from the cage, and I will consider your offer," he had told the demon.

"You need to work on your negotiation skills, angel-pup," Crowley had said with a mocking laugh. "Seems a bit one-sided, don't you think? See, you have to include some benefit for _**both**_ parties in a deal."

"Do this and I will not smite you," Cas had added, raising a hand.

"Done. But keep in mind, the offer's still on the table." Crowley had smirked at him before disappearing. "You'll be back."

Cas had used the fifty thousand souls in one impressive display of power against Raphael, establishing himself as a formidable enemy and increasing his following to about forty percent of the Heavenly Host. It was now a true civil war and its toll had been heavy over the past six months, taking many lives from both sides. But Cas had not displayed any significant power since and if rumors were to be believed, confidence in him as a leader was waning.

So here he now sat, contemplating going back to Crowley and taking him up on the offer of searching for a gate to Purgatory together. The demon had shown up every month or so to repeat the offer and Cas was loathe to admit that his reluctance to smite the smug demon was in part to keep the unthinkable option open.

He wished he had Dean to discuss this with but couldn't bring himself to drag the hunter into yet another war. Even Sam, upon his resurrection, had chosen to let his brother be. Cas had watched as the young man stood outside the small house just a day after being brought back and had been surprised to see him walk away without revealing himself. The angel had not contacted either brother since, deciding to leave them both to live their lives without the burden of saving humanity.

He received a message from Rachel, an address in Montana. Resigning himself to the task at hand, he sighed and rose to leave. There was a human causing a stir in recent weeks, tampering with forces and spells that posed a very slight threat to the security of Lucifer and Michael's prison. Although remote, the possibility was still real enough that his followers had felt the need to warn him. He had sent Rachel to stop the human a couple of weeks ago but apparently her threats had gone unheeded. Not being known for her subtlety, Cas knew sending Rachel a second time would surely result in this human's death and probably at least a full city block of collateral damage, so he chose to deal with it himself. After all, he was not so far gone he had forgotten all he had learned from Sam and Dean. Every human life has value. If he could stop the threat without any loss of life, then he would.

Besides, he had been glad for the excuse to spend some time alone down here in God's magnificent playground, even if only for an hour or two, away from the constant stress of fighting a losing war. He missed this.

He winged himself into the living room of the derelict old house, peering curiously around at the wards and sigils painted on the wall. Some of them were even marked with blood and all of them called forth powerful, dark forces; forces that no human should be toying with. He frowned and followed a rank smell through the double doors into the large kitchen to find a young woman sitting cross-legged next to a wormwood altar in the middle of a circle of painted symbols. She had her eyes closed and was repeating a phrase in an ancient Assyrian dialect. He stepped forward towards her and could feel a deep thrumming sensation filling the room.

"Melanie Pearce," he said sharply.

The woman opened her eyes, gasping and faltering in her repeated chant when she saw the angel standing there. She stumbled over a few words before starting back up again, scrambling to her feet as she did so. She eyed Cas fearfully and took a hesitant step backwards, clearly reluctant to step out of the circle just yet.

Cas furrowed his brow. "It's too late," he said bluntly. "You've already misspoken. They've broken free."

It would have been impossible to miss the alarm in her eyes as they shot wide. She stubbornly kept up the chant but her raised voice was now laced with fear and a hint of desperation. Cas looked around the room with a blank expression, taking in the symbols and the assortment of objects on the small alter. "What exactly are you trying to achieve?" he enquired.

"Who are you?" she demanded, finally giving up on the repeated mantra and stooping to pick up a shotgun from the floor by her side.

"I am an Angel of the Lord."

She didn't look all that shocked. In fact, he was fairly certain he caught a hint of annoyance at this revelation. "You guys back to threaten me again?" she frowned. "Well like I told your friend last week, you don't have to worry. I'm not going to let Lucifer free. Or Michael."

Cas shrugged. "Probably not, but you are playing with forces beyond your comprehension. You need to stop."

She shook her head. "I'll stop when I get Adam back."

Cas cocked his head slightly, recognizing the name. "The youngest Winchester? Is that what this is about?"

She nodded, taking a step towards him. "You're an angel," she said sounding suddenly hopeful. "If you want me to stop, why don't you just pull him out?"

Cas shook his head in reply, wondering what her connection to the Winchesters was. "Lucifer's cage is impenetrable," he said flatly. He felt a slight remorse at never even giving a second thought to the innocent vessel whose soul Michael had taken into the cage with him, but Crowley had offered up just Sam and Cas had jumped on it.

"No it's not," she argued. "You guys got Sam out."

"That wasn't an angel's doing."

"Then who? God?"

"I don't know," Cas lied. "But I do know that what you are doing won't work."

"Well it might have if you hadn't interrupted," she fired back, scrunching up her eyes in obvious pain for a second. An unnatural gust of wind blew through the room and a look of renewed fear crossed her face. "But now, thanks to you, I'm totally screwed," she added. A low growl sounded from thin air. She pumped the shotgun and waved it in the general direction of the threatening noise. "We're about to have company," she said to Cas, moving quickly towards the door. "I gotta go."

"That weapon will not do you any good," the angel pointed out, stepping into her path with a frown. "And you cannot hide from them. You have opened yourself up to them." The girl had foolishly attempted to bind a pair of Kharon Hounds but her slight misstep in the control chant when Cas had appeared had set them free. They would be angry at being tethered to a human's will and would surely be looking to destroy her. Cas could feel them coming. "A foolish move," he commented.

She went to step around him but he moved to block her path once more.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "What - you can't be bothered to smite me yourself so you're just gonna let them do your dirty work?"

Cas was tempted. This would mean one less thing he had to worry about and the human's predicament was entirely her own doing, toying with such dangerous spells. But the mention of the Winchesters had given him pause and reminded him there was another option.

"You cannot outrun them," he told her. "You've bound them. In doing so, you have created a psychic link that will undoubtedly last for another day or so. They will find you."

"Well unless you're offering to help, buddy, you could at least get out of my way and let me try get a head start."

"I will help you," he offered calmly, reaching forward with two fingers towards her forehead. He couldn't help but notice her eyes were a deep, deep blue, very much like his vessel Jimmy Novak's, and right now they were expressing equal measures of hope, fear, and distrust.

The instant his fingertips made contact with her skin, he started to focus. Erasing memories from a human was easy enough for him to do, especially with the upgrade God had given him when bringing him back to life for the second time, but it still took concentration to ensure only the relevant memories were deleted.

He actually gasped when he felt it and he jerked his hand away from her skin in alarm.

_**She was marked**_.

In itself, that was not a strange occurrence since Cupids and even full-fledged angels working as instruments of Fate marked people for pairing quite regularly. What was shocking was that he recognized the mark. He had seen the very same one, its exact match, inside Dean Winchester the day he had raised him from hell and the angels had restored his earthly body.

The discovery of Dean's mark had caused quite a stir throughout Heaven for there had been no order given to place the mark and no Cupid or angel would admit to having done it. Even the highest ranking archangels had no idea who had placed it nor did anyone claim to know what human bore the matching sigil. It also appeared to have been on Dean since birth, a rare occurrence in recent millennia. There had been much speculation as to who had put it there but the most popular suspects had been God and the missing Archangel, Gabriel.

This changed things.

It was only a tiny fraction of a second before he had stopped the memory wipe but the entire last week of her life was already gone. When he yanked his hand away from her forehead, she gave him a bewildered look, stepping back from him quickly. She winced and her hand reached up to clamp to her temple. "Ahhh," she groaned, clearly in some pain. "Who are you?" she stammered, looking around wildly. "What's going on?"

"What you feel is the Kharon hounds closing in," he said bluntly. "We must go." With that he strode over and gripped her left shoulder, catching her as her knees gave out and she fell, slumping forward into his chest.

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

Dean swirled the vodka slowly in his glass, wishing he had remembered to pick up more whisky on his way home from work today. It was three o'clock in the morning and he sat in front of the laptop in the living room browsing the usual hunter's sites since he currently didn't have a specific lead to follow. He knew he wasn't going to find anything new tonight but just couldn't bring himself to go to bed just yet.

He took a long drink. Just a glass or two more to dull the ache and numb the pain before heading upstairs to bed.

It had been six months since he had lost Sam and had shown up on Lisa's doorstep. Unbelievably, she had taken him in without question and had been caring and supportive and so damn understanding ever since. Dean knew for a fact he wouldn't have lasted a month without her and Ben. He still had good weeks and bad weeks but had worked his way into a routine and was coping. In his good weeks, he occasionally managed a few consecutive hours without thinking about Sam, without feeling that all-consuming despair he hadn't been able to shake when he had first shown up here. These times usually occurred when he was out doing something with Ben or when the three of them sat down for movie night and for a brief spell felt like a real family that wasn't missing this gigantic sasquatch-sized piece. In his good weeks, he felt he was doing more than just existing and sometimes even dared to believe this wasn't all going to come crashing down on him.

This week, however, had been a bad week.

"Dean."

The ex-hunter leapt to his feet and spun around, his hand instinctively going to the small of his back, reaching for a gun that wasn't there.

In the middle of the living room was Cas, wearing the same beige trench coat and suit he had worn the whole time Dean had known him. He was just standing there with his usual grave expression on his face and carrying some passed-out girl.

A teasing remark about finding an easier way to lose his virgin status was forming in the back of Dean's mind but the shock and surprise of seeing his old friend after all this time swept the words away before he could articulate them. "Cas!" was all he said.

"Hello, Dean," Cas said, somewhat awkwardly. "Uh, I need your help."

Dean raised an eyebrow and glanced at the unconscious girl, the virgin comment reforming. It was recognition that shattered the thought this time, however, as the girl's head rolled off the angel's chest and dropped back over her shoulder, revealing her face.

"Laney!" he gasped, jerking his attention back to Cas. "What… Cas, what's going on?"

"I'm hoping she will listen to you."

"What do you mean? What's wrong with her? Is she hurt?"

Cas shook his head. "I had to make her sleep. She tried to bind a pair of Kharon hounds but they broke loose from the spell."

Dean just gave him a baffled look.

"The binding ritual includes creating a psychic link between the master and the hounds," Cas explained. "They were not pleased at being tethered and will not stop until she has been punished but..." he gave the sleeping girl a slightly huffy look. "They cannot find her while she sleeps."

Dean's head was spinning, a hundred different emotions pulling him in all different directions. "Why would she do that?"

"She is trying to raise Adam Milligan from Lucifer's cage."

Dean's eyes widened and he took a step back from the pair. "What? Is that even possible? Sam…"

Cas shook his head quickly. "No. No, it is not but she refuses to stop trying. There are some who fear her actions could have dire consequences; that it is too risky to allow her to continue poking at Lucifer's cage. If she doesn't stop, Dean, the angels will kill her."

Dean heard a gasp and turned to see Lisa in the doorway, wearing her slippers and robe and staring at the strangers in her living room. He swallowed and something twisted inside him. His old life should not be colliding with his new one.

"Why'd you bring here, Cas?" he asked, suddenly feeling strong, contradicting urges to both take Laney into his own arms and to send Cas away with her.

"Because you and she share a bond," Cas said simply. "It goes back to childhood."

Dean stole a glance at Lisa and shifted uncomfortably. "Okay," he said slowly. "I suppose…well, not really but…"

"Can you talk to her?" Cas asked, gesturing for Dean to take Laney from him. "I fear you are the only one she will listen too. For your sake, Dean, I do not want any harm to come to her."

He wished Cas would use a little more tact, but Dean nodded and stepped forward. "Of course," he said, shuffling Laney from Cas's arms into his own and giving Lisa another awkward look.

Cas nodded his approval and stepped back. "I am sorry to bring you into this, Dean," he said, sounding oddly formal. "I hope you have been successful in finding peace for yourself."

"Uh, yeah," Dean responded, not sure what else to say. He wasn't certain, but he thought perhaps the angel's tone betrayed a hint of accusation, an implied disapproval of Dean's choice to leave the fight. Lisa remained silent.

"Melanie will sleep for at least a day," the angel informed him. "By that time the psychic link will have worn off so a simple hex bag should keep her hidden from the Kharon hounds after that. I should go now."

"No, wait," Dean said sharply. "Uh, Cas, this is Lisa," He nodded towards the woman still standing in the kitchen doorway. "Lisa, this is Cas."

"The angel," Lisa said, giving Cas a timid but welcoming smile.

"Yes," Cas answered with a polite nod. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," she replied, not coming any closer.

He turned back to Dean, who was standing stiffly holding the sleeping brunette. "I am needed elsewhere. Good-bye Dean."

"No wait," Dean stalled again, unsure about all the feelings seeing his old friend had stirred up but strangely not wanting him to go just yet. "Uh, how've you been? How are things going?"

Cas paused for a second, clearly choosing his words carefully. "Chaotic but manageable," was what he came up with. "You needn't worry."

With that he was gone, eliciting another startled gasp out of Lisa. There was a long pause while Dean stared at the empty space his friend had just vacated before looking down at the girl in his arms and then over to Lisa with a questioning look.

"In the spare room," she said simply, gesturing towards the stairs. "She can rest there. I'll make coffee and when you come back down, you can fill me in."

Dean felt his whole body relax. Lisa never ceased to amaze him. The things she put up with and how calmly she dealt with all the crap he kept putting her through – she truly was amazing. He felt a renewed rush of gratitude for all she had done for him over the past six months. He gave her an apologetic smile as he headed upstairs with their sleeping houseguest, treading quietly to avoid waking Ben as he passed the boy's bedroom.

Lisa kept the spare room made up even though it hadn't been used in months. Dean had spent his first three weeks sleeping in there, in part because he hadn't expected to just show up out of the blue and share a bed with Lisa and in part because he hadn't wanted her to catch him crying in his sleep.

He hauled the covers back and lay Laney down gently before untying her boots and slipping them off. As he pulled the covers back up he stopped, pausing to study her face. She looked so peaceful. He couldn't help but remember the pain in her eyes the last time he had seen her.

He had called her the next day, after he had left the hospital in Windom, and had told her the whole story. He had explained what had happened to Adam and that he and Sam had given him a proper salt and burn so no more ghouls would be turning up looking like him. She hadn't said much but had gone along with the suicide ruse and taken the blame for the mess at the house, covering for the Winchesters with the police. She had called him back two weeks later to explain that enough of Adam's blood and DNA had been found at the graveyard for the police to officially declare him dead. Sam had been locked in the panic room at the time, detoxing from demon blood, and Dean hadn't been able to talk for long. He had asked her what she was going to do next and she had simply told him there was nothing left for her in Windom so she was going to travel for a bit. A week later Lucifer had been set free and by the time Dean called her again, her phone had been disconnected. That had been a year and a half ago and he hadn't heard from her since.

When the angels had brought Adam down from Heaven as a back-up vessel for Michael, the kid had not been overly cooperative. Dean had tried to track down Laney to talk to him, to convince him to trust his brothers and not the angels, but he hadn't been able to find her. The Milligan house had been left to Laney in Kate's will but a guy named Aaron Ross had since been given power of attorney. The Winchesters contacted Aaron, who turned out to be Amy's ex-hunter brother, but he had last heard from Laney two months prior when she had called him from somewhere in Sri Lanka. Then Adam had said 'yes' and not long after, Sam had done the same and both of Dean's brother's had died ... again. Besides drowning in his own grief, Dean had seen no need for Laney to find out she had missed being there to save Adam a second time so he had stopped searching for her.

He perched himself of the side of the bed, unable to take his eyes off her for some reason. Seems she had found out what had happened to Adam anyway. He knew first hand that it was bad enough having a little brother die, but to have the knowledge he was burning in Hell ... He reached out and slipped a finger under the silver chain visible at her neck, pulling gently until the locket was in his hand.

She still had it. Somehow he knew she'd still have it. She wasn't one to let things go easily. Not the locket and definitely not Adam.

_She was trying to save Adam._ He swallowed and felt a rush of guilt. He had only _**barely**_ broken his promise to Sam by looking for a way to bring the younger Winchester back despite agreeing not to and he hadn't managed to get very far. He hadn't been really fighting for it, giving it everything he had, risking his life and his soul like he would have done two years ago. There was just no fight left in him. He was empty and broken and he knew it. Sure, he had been reading and searching in his spare time, after work and a couple of hours here and there on weekends, but he hadn't been trying like Laney had obviously been trying.

He realized her being here was a painful reminder of the man he used to be, the man who used to _**feel**_ and who would never have given up on his brother. And now he was supposed to convince her to do just that with hers.

He lay the locket back down just below the crook of her neck before reaching up and brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. Mixed feelings were swirling around inside at the sight of her, at this part of his old life rearing its head. He had become used to the numbness, the ease and safety of a dull life. Used to not having to worry about people you care about dying every time they walk out the door. Used to the most frightening thing happening being Ben getting a skinned knee from baseball practice. Now, suddenly being confronted with his old life was scaring the crap out of him. Problem was, he wasn't sure if it that was an entirely bad thing. At least scared was a feeling, right?

He sighed and straightened up, making his way to the door and switching off the light as he stepped back into the hallway.

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

Laney woke up to a sound in the room. She gasped and sat up, her hand sweeping under her pillow for a weapon only to find nothing. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she realized she wasn't in her motel room in Concord. Instead, she found herself in a small but cosy-looking bedroom with some little kid, a boy who looked like ten or twelve years old, rooting through one of the drawers in the dresser by the window.

"Who are you?" she demanded, sounding a bit gruffer than she had planned.

The kid spun to face her, eyes wide for a second before he seemed to relax. "I'm Ben," he said simply. "You're in my house."

She sat up and swung her legs off the side of the bed, surprised to find she felt a little weak and her head was pounding. She frowned as she tried to remember how she got here. Last thing she remembered was tracking down a guy in New Hampshire that supposedly had a rare black magic root she needed for her plan to bind the Kharons. "How'd I get here?" she asked, giving up.

The boy shrugged. "I dunno. Mom says you're a friend of Dean's and you just needed a place to rest for a day or two."

"Dean?" That got her attention. "Dean Winchester?"

Ben nodded. "Yeah. He lives here with me and my mom."

Laney swallowed, suddenly realizing where she was. _Why would she have come here?_ She had sworn to Dean she would never lie to him again and had been fully intending to keep that promise by simply letting him be and staying away. If Sam and Bobby both thought he was better off hiding out in Normal-ville not knowing Sam was alive, then she wasn't going to be the one to ruin that for him. Especially since Sam wasn't exactly Sam anymore.

A woman appeared in the doorway, frowning at the boy. "Ben, what are..." she began in a hushed voice but seemed startled when she saw Laney sitting up. "Oh, you're awake," she said. "I didn't think... How are you feeling?"

She smiled and Laney felt an odd pang of jealousy. This had to be Lisa. She was pretty, _**very**_ pretty, and was smiling at her with a sincere, genuine smile.

"You must be Lisa," she managed. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I would have come here." She moved to stand up but her legs were strangely weak and she sat back down on the edge of the bed to gather her breath. "Uh, Dean... is he...?"

"He had to go out for a bit to get some stuff for a ... a hex bag?" she seemed unsure of the words but Laney gave her a nod to let her know she had it right. Bobby and Sam had told her Lisa was not a hunter; that Dean had left 'the life' behind entirely. Of course, what did Dean need a hex bag for then?

"He'll be back soon," Lisa reassured her. "Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? Something to eat?"

Laney nodded her appreciation, rubbing her temple and squinting in pain. "A couple of Tylenol?" She glanced down at the filthy state her clothes were in. "Maybe a shower?"

Lisa smiled again and nodded. "Sure. Of course." She picked up some folded clothes from the top of the dresser and handed them to her guest. "Here, these should fit you. Bathroom's the second door on the left in the hallway. You'll find Tylenol in the cabinet and towels in the cupboard. I'll put coffee on and you can come downstairs whenever you're ready."

Ben had retrieved what looked like a little league baseball outfit from one of the dresser drawers and Lisa ushered him towards the door. "Come on Ben. Let's give our guest some privacy."

She headed out but Ben slipped around his mother's guiding hand on his shoulder blade and turned to look back at Laney. "Are you a hunter like Dean?" he asked, sounding a little in awe.

Laney wasn't sure what to say but Lisa saved her from having to answer by reaching in and pulling her son out the door into the hallway. "She doesn't need you hounding her, Ben. Get downstairs."

She let out a long exhale, still confused and more than a little uncomfortable at her situation. She had a vague recollection of standing in some derelict-looking house next to a guy with a trench coat but... What had happened? Had she managed to find her contact in Concord and get her hands on the Ghanorian Blackroot? Why would she have come to Dean's house in Indiana? And why the hell did she not remember anything? She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket but froze when she saw the screen.

The date was displayed across the wallpaper picture of her and Adam at Niagra Falls ... _**November 18, 2010**_.

But it was only November tenth ... _wasn't it? _What the hell was going on? She decided to just take that shower and wait for Dean to get home. Maybe he would have the answers. Hopefully he already knew about Sam being topside because she couldn't lie to him and she didn't want to be the one to bring his new life crashing down on him.

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

Lisa's clothes fit fairly well and the combination of four extra-strength Tylenol and a long, hot shower made Laney feel almost back to normal. She ran her fingers through her damp hair to get the tangles out and ventured downstairs to take Lisa up on her offer of coffee.

The downstairs was as 'normal' as the upstairs had been. Clearly, everything Bobby and Sam had told her about Dean living a peaceful life was true. There were pictures on the mantle of him with Lisa and Ben, looking every bit like happy family portraits. He had moved on from hunting, moved on from Sam, and definitely moved on from her.

"Can I get you something to eat?" Lisa offered, handing her the promised mug of coffee. "You look like you could use it."

As if in reply, Laney felt a rumble in her stomach. She hadn't been eating very well in recent weeks and some food would certainly go down well right about now. "Uh, sure, maybe just some cookies or something," she accepted, sitting down at the table.

Lisa nodded and quickly brought a plate of assorted cookies over, taking a seat across from Laney with her own mug of coffee. "Dean should be home soon," she offered. "He' said he'd only be a couple of hours."

Laney's insides knotted up. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to see Dean. Part of her did, more than anything, in fact. The same part that had wanted to see him every day for almost twenty years. But another part didn't, the part that had sworn never to lie to him again and the part that wanted him to be happy, even if it was with someone else.

"Nice place you have here," Laney said politely. "You and Dean, I mean." She gave her hostess an uncomfortable smile. "Look, Lisa, I'm sorry to intrude here. I didn't mean to disrupt you and... I really shouldn't be here. I should get going right away." She rose to her feet and a thought struck her. "Uh, is my car here?"

Lisa put her hand on Laney's arm. "You're not going anywhere. Trust me, it's fine. I know about Dean's old life and I always figured it was gonna make an appearance eventually." She smiled. "Even if it was teleported into my living room in the middle of the night. Stay."

Laney hesitated. The woman sounded sincere. 'Wait, teleported?

"You're car's not here," Lisa added. "Just wait for Dean to get back, please? He needs to talk to you."

The hunter sighed and sat back down. "My memory's a little foggy..." she started but was cut off as a blinding pain stabbed her right behind her eyes. "Ahhh," she winced.

"You okay?" she heard Lisa asking. "Laney?"

Something was wrong. This was not just an ordinary headache. It was as if … as weird as it sounded, it was as if there was something else thinking _**inside her head**_. "What's going on?" she asked through clenched teeth, looking hard at the woman standing next to her who had a concerned hand on her arm. "Something's not right. What's going on? What happened?"

"Uh, you tried to bind some kind of hellhound," Lisa stammered, looking bewildered. "I don't remember. Dean said it was a Koran or something and…"

"Kharon?" Laney demanded, her heart skipping a beat in sudden fear. "Did I do that already? Why can't I remember?"

Lisa just shrugged, shaking her head.

"Did I screw it up?" Laney kept pressing, running the facts of her latest intended plan through her head. Had she done the spell already? If so, it clearly hadn't worked. The Kharon always came in pairs and if she had tried to bind them, then she would have linked herself to them. She had known it was a risky venture but she was getting desperate. Adam had been down there a long time. Besides, she had been alone and had thought that if she screwed up, she would be the only one to pay the price. "Do I have a pair of Kharon's after me?" she demanded when Lisa didn't answer.

This time Lisa nodded, her face now terrified. "I think so. But Dean said they couldn't find you for now and he's out getting something that'll hide you from them."

_**Crap.**_ This made no sense whatsoever and Laney had no clue what had gone wrong that had landed her here without any memories of the past week, but she could tell there was something coming. Somehow she could just tell, like it was inside her brain telling her it was coming. She also knew it was evil and it was pissed.

"We gotta go!" she exclaimed, grabbing Lisa's arm and dragging her towards the back door. "It's the Kharon. They're coming."

"What! Here?" Lisa yanked her arm away. "Oh my God, Ben." She turned and ran back into the living room, heading towards the stairs. "Ben!" she practically screamed up to the second floor. "Ben! Come down here!"

Laney's heart pounded as she tried to remember all the information she had dug up on the Kharon. They were the smallest of the Hellhounds but the most powerful. They were the pack leaders and were the ones who actually carried the damned soul down into the pit after their bigger brethren, the regular Hellhounds, had ripped the body apart. The real life version of the ferryman. They could track their prey through a psychic link, telepathic powers that allowed them… oh _crap_. They were tracking _**her**_.

The kid appeared at the top of the stairs wearing the baseball uniform. "Jeez, Mom, no need to have a…"

"Ben! Come on, we have to go!" Lisa cried urgently. "Now!"

The eleven year old's eyes widened and he too suddenly looked terrified. He did as his mother said and came down the stairs without any further argument. Lisa grabbed his hand and turned to Laney, her frightened eyes asking what to do next.

"Do you have any weapons in the house?" Laney asked. "A shotgun?"

Lisa nodded. "In the back of my closet."

"Okay, you two get out of here," she ordered the mother and son, starting up the stairs.

"What about you?" Lisa hesitated.

"Just go."

Laney felt incredibly guilty having brought her troubles into this woman's house, endangering her family. She hoped the shotgun was loaded with rock salt for she was fairly certain regular shells wouldn't have any effect on a demonic dog from hell. She ran into the room she thought must be Lisa's, correction – Lisa and Dean's – and dashed towards the closet.

The shotgun was there. _Of course it was_, she thought ruefully. After all, Dean lived here. He could quit hunting and pretend he was just a normal guy but he could never erase his instincts. John had trained him to always be ready for anything and to protect those he cared about since he was five years old; that was ingrained in him as much as breathing was.

There was a scream from downstairs and Laney kicked herself into high gear, snatching the shotgun and racing back down the hallway as she checked it for ammo. Yup, it was loaded. She flew down the top stairs two at a time, taking the bottom half in one leap.

Lisa and Ben hadn't made it outside. Laney reached the living room to find them huddled against the far wall next to the key rack, Lisa's arms wrapped protectively around her son as they stared wild-eyed at an empty space in front of them.

The space may have been empty but a nasty snarl was coming from that very spot and Laney could practically _**feel**_ the beast that was standing there. She rushed forward, firing the shotgun repeatedly at the invisible beast threatening the innocent pair, thankful it was indeed salt rounds. There was a sickening yelp and drops of blood spattered the clean carpet.

"Go! Now!" she shouted, pausing and waving the nose of the shotgun around, trying to relocate the Kharon. Lisa nodded and took a few hesitant steps towards the front door, still clutching Ben. Laney headed in that direction also, trying to hear past the loud thumping in her chest to figure out where the beast had gone. A loud growl gave it away and again she blasted a round towards it. There was another yelp and a thud on the floor but before she could fire again there was a second angry snarl behind her. She spun around and fired again, backing up quickly as she did so.

Damnit, there were two of them.

She fired again and again and was rewarded with another painful yelp and a splatter of blood. Knowing the wound was almost definitely temporary, she glanced behind her to see that Lisa and Ben had thankfully reached the door. The terrified mother was just reaching for the handle when the invisible force that Laney could now identify as one of the Kharon flew charged towards them, sending magazines flying and the side window curtains fluttering as it passed.

Laney didn't think, she just moved. She stepped back, placing herself between the airborne beast and the innocent people and fired once more. She heard the round hit the hound but the breath was knocked out of her when something slammed into her chest and sent her crashing to the floor.

"Run!" she screamed as soon as her breath caught. She could feel the beast on top of her and threw her free hand in front of her face as she tried to bring the shotgun around in the other. "Run!"

She heard the door open but that was it because all awareness was suddenly snatched from her when a set of invisible fangs sank into her forearm. A scream tore out of her throat and she fought to stay lucid through the pain and the panic enough to bring the shotgun muzzle around. She squeezed the trigger and screamed again as the fangs ripped their way back out of her arm.

The hound was no longer on top of her. She could no longer hear its snarl and feel its hot breath on her face. She rolled to her hands and knees and pushed herself up to her feet. The front door was open and she staggered outside, pulling it shut behind her and stumbling down the walk.

Lisa was there, just shutting the passenger door of a car in the driveway with Ben loaded inside. She looked up and ran back towards Laney, taking the arm that wasn't burning in agony and ushering her towards the car. "Oh God, you're bleeding," she gasped. "Come on, let's go."

Laney shook herself free. "I can't," she rasped. "They're after me."

"Then get in the car and we can go," Lisa demanded urgently.

"No, you don't understand. They can follow me. They're not dead." She looked Dean's girlfriend in the eye as she pushed her away. "You have to get away from me. Take your son and go."

Lisa still hesitated.

"I'll be fine," Laney added, relieved when the woman's instinct to protect her son won out and she turned and ran back to the car, jumping in the driver's seat and racing out of the driveway.

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

Dean pulled his truck onto his street, feeling a little nervous about seeing Laney again. Cas had said she would sleep for the whole day so he had headed out early this morning to gather the things he'd need for a hex bag to protect her from the Kharon hounds once she woke up. Then came the hard part; convincing her to just let Adam go and stop pissing off the angels.

He was wondering how he was going to do that when he saw Lisa's car racing out of the driveway and up the street towards him. He waved her over and jumped out of the truck. "What's going on?" he demanded, leaning in her window.

"Some _**things**_, like invisible dogs or something…" she told him, her voice sounding frantic.

Dean's gut twisted in a knot of fear, regret, and worry. He glanced over to see Ben in the passenger seat, pale and looking absolutely terrified. "Where's Laney?" he blurted, knowing somewhere deep inside that shouldn't have been his first question.

"She said they're after her; she wouldn't get in the car," Lisa explained. "Dean, she got bit."

"Damnit," he cursed, turning to get back in his truck. "Go to your sister's!" he ordered Lisa over his shoulder. "Go there and stay there until I come get you!"

With that he was tearing down the street, coming to a screeching halt in front of the house. He was just about to yank the front door open and charge inside when he spotted Laney fifty yards up the sidewalk. He leapt back off the porch and up the street after her, calling her name.

She was just trying the handle of a parked Toyota when he reached her. "Laney," he breathed, spinning her around by the shoulder to face him. "Why aren't you answering me?"

His eyes fell on the bloody arm she held close into her side. "Jesus," he swore, knowing what this would mean. "A Kharon?"

She looked up at him and nodded, her eyes bleary and shifting focus. Dean knew a Kharon bite was poisonous. Not some known venom a local hospital could treat or cure, but instead a supernatural poison that would spread and kill the victim slowly and painfully.

"It's okay," she panted. "I just need to get to Bobby's. I just need a car."

Dean practically growled at her. "You planning on stealing a frigging Toyota and driving to Bobby's in your state?" he said incredulously. "You know you won't make it out of the subdivision."

She let out a whimper and leaned back against the car, her knees buckling slightly.

"I didn't think it would … react so fast," she whispered. "Dean, I'm sorry. I hate to ask...can you…can you take me to Bobby's?"

Dean was already pulling her arm over his shoulder and half-carrying her to his truck. "Of course," he said gently. "Of course, I gotcha."

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

Laney barely remembered the drive. She remembered Dean placing her in the bench seat of a truck and tearing out of the subdivision. She was aware of them pulling over at least twice so he could douse her wound with holy water, which hurt like hell. She remembered screaming. The second time he did it she had grabbed a hold of his hand, squeezing it so tightly his knuckles must have turned white. She was still clutching it when she passed out and she had a vague recollection of waking up to the soothing hum of the truck on the freeway to find her hand still wrapped gently in his.

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

_**A/N:** Okay, that was a little bit of backstory, a little bit of awkward, and a little bit of action... Please review :-)_


	8. PART 5 Chapter 8

_**Previously**__: Laney was attempting to free Adam from the cage when Cas intervened. Upon seeing she was marked with an Enokian symbol to match one Dean had, he took her to Lisa's to give Dean the chance to talk her out of continuing on the path she was on, telling him the angels would kill her if she didn't stop. While Dean was out, the Kharon hounds showed up and Laney got bitten attempting to get Lisa, Ben, and herself to safety. The bite is supernaturally poisonous so when Dean arrived, he put her in his truck and took her to Bobby's for help._

**P A R T 5**

**CHAPTER 8**

It was an eight hour drive from Lisa's house to Bobby's but Dean made it in less than six despite three pitstops to douse Laney's wound in holy water and re-wrap the arm. She had thrashed and cried out the first two times but hadn't even woken up by the third. Dean knew in his gut this was a bad sign, meaning the poison had spread from the wound and was now pumping its way through her entire body with every beat of her heart.

It was late afternoon when he pulled into the Singer Salvage, the intense familiarity hitting him like a physical blow. He hadn't been here in six months but it still looked exactly the same. Dean found it curious that Laney had only met Bobby very briefly yet when she had realized she was in trouble, she had immediately asked to be brought here. It would seem she and the older hunter had crossed paths again since Dean had seen Bobby last and she had been to the junkyard before.

He had called ahead so the older hunter would be ready for them. Laney had been completely out of it for the last hour, curled up on the seat next to him, her skin feverish and her breathing shallow. He skidded to a stop just outside the old house's front door, jumping out and running to the other side of the truck to get his passenger. Bobby was standing on the porch by the time Dean hit the steps with Laney bundled in his arms.

"She's burning up," were his first words of greeting after not seeing his old friend for six months but Bobby simply nodded and ordered him to take Laney to the bathroom.

The tub was already filled with holy water, floating bulbs of strange-looking roots, and bucket-loads of ice. "Get her jeans off and put her in," Bobby ordered briskly, dumping yet another bag of ice cubes into the already frigid water. "Where'd it bite her - on her arm?"

Dean just nodded as he supported her with one muscular forearm while trying to pull her boots and Lisa's jeans off with the other. Bobby unwound the bandage Dean had wrapped the bite wound with and scowled at the sight beneath it.

"Is this gonna work?" Dean asked anxiously as he picked her up again to lower her into the tub.

His friend didn't have a chance to reply for as soon as the brunette's skin touched the water her eyes shot open and she screamed, clawing desperately at Dean and arching away from the water.

Bobby didn't miss a beat; he simply gave her a hard shove downwards into the water, gripping her arms and holding her there while she screamed and thrashed wildly about. Momentarily startled by the fierce reaction, Dean flinched but quickly followed Bobby's lead and helped the older man pin Laney in the water. The violent struggle only lasted a minute or two before she gave up, her body suddenly going limp and sliding boneless down into the tub.

Bobby immediately knelt down at the foot of the bath and slung his arm under her neck to keep her head above water. He started dabbing her forehead and face with a soaked hand towel, speaking to her soothingly as he worked. Dean stood behind him for a moment, still breathing heavily, before finally taking a step back and sitting down on the toilet seat a few feet away to watch worriedly.

"Did you get the hex bag right?" Bobby asked him after a brief silence. "Coz these things will find her in a jiffy if you got it wrong."

Dean snorted in indignation. "It's right," he insisted, pulling the bag he had made up this morning from his pocket to show his friend. "It's only been six months, Bobby. I remember how to make a damn hex bag."

Bobby raised an eyebrow at him, never once stopping his repeated motion of soaking the towel and dousing Laney's head. "Shoulda had one on her the minute Cas dropped her off at your place, " he grumbled.

"Cas said she wouldn't wake up," Dean defended half-heartedly, knowing the older hunter was right and that he had screwed up. "They can't track her when she's sleeping." He got no response so he watched for a few minutes in silence, debating telling Bobby how much he had missed him these past months and how nice it was to see him again despite the situation. He held his tongue, however, and as he watched, it became abundantly clear Bobby knew Laney far more than some hunting acquaintance. Dean let out a long sigh, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

"Damnit Bobby, what's going on with her?"

Bobby shrugged. "She showed up about two weeks after you went to Lisa's," he explained. "She was over in Thailand or something and she had called Amy's brother just to check in and he told her that we'd called him to say Adam was alive and looking for her. She got back to the U.S. but you ditched your old phone when you quit hunting and Sam's went down into the pit with him so she couldn't reach either of you. She didn't know who else to call so she showed up here. I told her what had happened and..." Laney turned her head slightly and made a soft, whimpering sound.

"It's alright, darlin'" Bobby muttered soothingly, dabbing her forehead with the wet towel.

"You two seem on good terms," Dean observed. "How'd that come about?"

"Honestly, it's to the point where she shows up on my doorstep every two or three weeks, usually exhausted or hurt, sleeps like a log for a couple of days then raids my library before heading back out." Bobby paused to listen to some incoherent muttering from the girl in the tub before shaking his head. "She's determined to get Adam out of the cage. She ain't stopped since she found out that ... where Adam was." He let out a tired groan. "She's damn stubborn; wouldn't take _'just let him go'_ as an answer. She keeps getting deeper and deeper into this stuff and it's got so bad now she don't even tell me what she's up to anymore. She says she's gonna get Adam outta there or die trying." He gave Dean a sad look. "Truth is, I don't think she really cares which anymore."

Dean could relate to that but the thought of Laney feeling that way made his stomach turn. He wanted her to be happy and safe – it was all he had _**ever**_ wanted for her - from the first day he had rescued the dirty runaway girl with the sad eyes from those two thugs in the alley.

"Is she gonna be okay?" He asked the question quietly, not liking the paleness of Laney's skin or the way she was shivering in the icy water.

"I dunno, kid, I dunno. The ice should break the fever and the rest will hopefully cure the poison but ... I just dunno. We'll just hafta wait and see."

Laney rolled her head towards the stocky man who was kneeling on the floor next to the tub. Her eyelids fluttered open but shifted around, clearly not focusing properly.

"Bobby?" she whispered. "That you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Bobby answered softly. "You're gonna be fine now."

"Bobby, I screwed up."

"Well I ain't gonna argue with you there," he agreed, though there was no malice in his voice.

"Bobby, I saw Dean," she continued, her voice little more than a murmur.

"Yeah, I know."

She had her head tipped into the crook of Bobby's elbow but her eyes were once again closed.

"Bobby?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm still in love with him."

Bobby raised an eyebrow and flashed an accusatory glance at the young man sitting silently watching nearby. "Yeah, I know, darlin'," he said simply, continuing his work with the towel. "I know."

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

Dean just stared from where he sat on the toilet seat, dumbfounded. _Did she just say she was in love with him? _Granted she was poisoned and delirious but … she had definitely used the L-word. Dean couldn't remember another instance someone had said that about him and meant it, or any time he had _**believed**_ it anyway, but for some reason he knew Laney had meant it. She wasn't one to throw that kind of word around lightly, delirious or not. In truth, he knew how she felt about him; he'd always known. It just made it so damn real and inescapable to hear her say it out loud.

He watched the pair at the tub in stony silence for a long moment before standing up and walking out of the room without saying a word. He made his way straight to Bobby's liquor cabinet and poured himself a half glass of the mechanic's cheap scotch, taking a long drink before sinking onto the nearby wooden chair.

It wasn't that he didn't want her to love him; he just didn't deserve it.

Speaking of not deserving someone… _**Lisa**_. He had to call Lisa. He hadn't checked on her since he had ordered her to her sister's this morning and gone charging back to the house to find Laney. Feeling guilty from all angles, he pulled his phone out of his coat pocket to see six missed calls from her. Crap, he'd forgotten it was on silent mode from his thievery this morning trying to procure the unorthodox items for the hex bag.

He sighed and dialled her number, wondering how she was going to react. Damnit, he had known someday his old life would come creeping into his new one. He hadn't wanted this life, _**his**_ life, to ever taint Lisa and Ben. He had never wanted them to be hurt or scared or in danger because of him and it had happened anyway. He cared about them, loved them even, and would do anything for them. After all, they had helped him through so much and had taken him in with no questions asked when he was a grieving train wreck. They had given him something to live for when all he could feel was the big, black hole that had swallowed his brothers.

But … he glanced in the direction of the bathroom … but he couldn't deny the feelings he had for Laney, the feelings he had always had for her. Cas had been right. They had shared a bond of sorts since childhood. In a way, he'd been in love with her since he was twelve. He'd convinced himself it was just embellished memories; manipulated by his lonely life into something they weren't, until that night when she had shown him the locket. That night had been one of the best in his life, the most intimate he had ever been with someone and the closest he had ever felt to anyone other than Sam. To this day his pulse quickened when he thought about it; her kiss, her touch, how she felt next to him, around him, hell, right through him.

"_Dean?_" Lisa's worried voice gasped into the phone. "_Dean, are you alright?_"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured her. "How about you and Ben? Are you guys okay?"

He heard her loud exhale of relief. "_We're fine._ _It's been hours, Dean. You weren't answering your phone._"

Dean winced, not missing that the worried tone had an added hint of frustration and maybe even anger around its edges. He knew he had crossed the line this time. Perhaps he had finally reached the limit of her understanding and tolerance. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "Laney's hurt pretty bad and …" He let the sentence trail off.

There was a pause. "_She going to be okay?_"

"I think so," he sighed, rubbing his hand down his face. "Bobby's on it. Not much I can do but wait. Listen, Lisa, about the trouble I brought to your house, putting you and Ben in danger like that; I'm sorry. I wanted to keep my old life away from you. If I hada known this would happen, I would've sent Cas away."

"_It's not your fault, Dean."_

"How can you say that?" he snorted.

"_When are you coming home?" _she changed the subject.

He winced again. "Look, I'm going to stay here until she's awake. I still have to convince her to stop doing this kind of stuff before she gets herself killed." He waited and could hear Lisa's presence on the other end but got no reply. "Just stay at your sister's, okay?" he warned her. "Whatever you do, don't go back to the house. I've got to take care of those hounds first and make sure they don't come back."

"_What do you mean? What are you going to do?_" Before he could answer she spoke again. "_No, you know what? Don't tell me. I don't think I want to know. Just … come home safe. We just want you home_."

"Okay," he nodded into the phone. "I'll talk to you soon."

He disconnected the call and sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose as he slumped forward to rest his elbows wearily on his knees.

He had to go back. He had obligations to Ben and Lisa. He would do as Cas asked and talk to Laney first, but then he had to go back. He had left this life for a reason – he'd had enough violence and death and pain and loss – he wanted peace. He _**needed**_ peace. Thoughts of Sam floated through his mind, tightening in a painful grip around his heart as they did so. Yes, he wanted that numbness again, to lose himself in routine and the mundane problems of civilian life.

His thoughts drifted to how he was going to convince the very stubborn Laney to stop what she was doing before she got herself killed. How was he going to convince her to leave Adam suffering eternal torment in Hell when it was all he could do not to throw up every time he thought of Sam in the same situation? Hell, Adam was his brother too, his _**blood**_, and he was supposed to convince her to just abandon him?

But he would. He would because he couldn't take it if she got herself killed.

He made his way back to the bathroom to find Bobby still dabbing her face with the cloth. She appeared to be completely out now, her head resting comfortably in the crook of Bobby's elbow.

"How's she doing?" Dean ventured.

"I think the fever's under control," Bobby replied, sounding optimistic. He got to his feet, making sure to keep supporting her head above the water. "Pick her up would ya?" he gestured to the younger hunter. "Bring her down to the panic room. I got the bed set up in there, just in case."

Dean shuffled forward and as Bobby withdrew his arm out from beneath Laney's shoulders, he slipped his in its place. He slid his other arm under her knees and scooped her up, holding her over the tub for a moment to let the worst of the freezing water drip off before following Bobby down the stairs.

He lowered her gently on to the fold-up cot in the panic room and straightened up to find Bobby shoving a lumberjack shirt and a pair of sweats at him. He raised a questioning eyebrow but Bobby just shrugged.

"Best I got," he said. "At least they're dry."

It finally occurred to Dean what Bobby was suggesting. "Woah, wait," he started to argue but he was cut off.

"She can't stay wet and we both know she'd be a damn sight more comfortable with you doing it than me," he growled before turning around and marching out the door.

A reluctant sigh escaped Dean but he set about the task at hand. He lifted Laney's top half up to sitting position and reached for the hem of Lisa's wet t-shirt. As her head lolled into his shoulder she moaned and started to stir. Her eyelashes began to flutter open and flashes of blue became visible as she tried to tilt her head up to face him.

"Bobby?"

"No, it's me, Dean." He tugged the shirt upwards but she seemed oblivious to what he was trying to accomplish and, although he met with no resistance, she gave him no help either.

"Dean..." she mumbled. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come to your house… I don't know why I came to you."

"Shhh," he hushed her, managing to get the t-shirt gently up over her head as he held her upright. "It's ok," he said truthfully, feeling no blame towards her. "It was Cas who brought you."

He finally pulled the shirt free and was reaching for the plaid button up Bobby had provided him with when he gasped. His eyes had inadvertently fallen on her torso, naked now except for her bra and underwear, and he lowered her back down to the bed quickly before standing up and taking a shocked step backwards.

"Bobby!" he shouted, still staring as the older man rushed back in from where he had been waiting outside.

Laney had closed her eyes again as soon as her head had hit the pillow and she now lay still on the small cot. She had a row of strange symbols tattooed in black ink from her collarbone down around the sides of her breasts and curling in at her waist on each side. There were more on her hips and pelvis as well as wrapping around her biceps and running down the insides of her arms.

"Balls," Bobby breathed as he stared at the sleeping girl. "What in the hell have you gotten yourself into darlin'?"

Dean swallowed. "Those can't be good." Actually, he couldn't help but think they were incredibly sexy but he quickly chastised himself for the dirty thought.

Bobby shook his head. "No, no they sure ain't." He pointed at the ones near the top. "Those are Asssyrian. " He frowned. "There's some Dari and... hmph," he snorted. "Some Enokian. That one by her hip's an anti-angel ward of sorts. That explains why she woke up before Cas intended. Took some of the juice outta his mojo." He sighed and turned around slowly, mumbling as he headed back for the door and left Dean to finish dressing her.

This latest revelation of the extremes Laney was going to weighed heavily on Dean as her leaned over her and lifted her torso up again. He slipped off her wet bra and worked her arms into the oversized shirt, laying her down again to button it up. He pulled her underwear off and tried to avert his eyes as he tugged up the way-too-big sweatpants up and tied them at the top.

He spread the blanket over her and went back out into the basement where Bobby was waiting for him and they headed up the stairs together. At the top step, the older man turned to Dean.

"You may as well head out, son. I'll take it from here."

"What?" Dean was a bit surprised at the quick dismissal. Why was he getting the brush-off? "I'm staying until she wakes up," he insisted. "I need to talk some sense into her before she gets herself killed."

Bobby shrugged as he poured himself a drink. "Listen, Dean, you're out. You should stay that way. This is a hunter's problem. She's not your responsibility. I can take care of this. You should get back to your life in the suburbs."

Not sure if the sentiment was genuine or if he detected a slight edge of resentment or even sarcasm, Dean simply shook his head as he followed Bobby into his kitchen. "No offense, Bobby, but you haven't been able to talk her out of a damn thing so far. Besides, Cas brought her to me for a reason."

Bobby was about to reply when the back door swung open and a large figure barged in. "Hey Bobby, you got any whistleweed? I need to take down a..."

The newcomer stopped midsentence when his eyes fell upon Dean, who was staring back at him, dumbfounded.

"Oh, Uh... hi Dean," Sam said.

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

_**A/N:**__ Next chapter Sam and Dean work together to take on the Kharon Hounds and we find out what Sam and Laney have been up to for the last six months. I'd love to know what you thought of this chapter or what you'd like to see happen next so feel free to leave a review :-) _


	9. PART 5 Chapter 9

_**Previously**__: Dean took Laney to Bobby's to cure her from the Kharon Hound bite. While she was delirious, she admitted that she's in love with him and Dean knows he feels the same way but he still feels obligated to go back to Lisa and Ben and isn't ready to get back into hunting yet, the loss of Sam still plaguing him. Then he comes up the stairs and Sam walks in..._

****~x~x~x~x~x~ ****

**P A R T 5**

**CHAPTER 9**

Dean was stunned. He stood in Bobby's kitchen with his mouth hanging open just staring at what looked exactly like his brother - his _**dead**_ brother. His dead brother standing there with an amused-looking smirk on his face. Dean's mind was screaming at him to draw a weapon and kill whatever it was but Bobby's voice was in the background arguing against that instinct, insisting that it was really Sam and that he had already tried all the usual tricks - salt, holy water, silver...

Without prompting, Sam calmly demonstrated all the tests again, clearly taking no offence at Dean's hesitation to just take Bobby's word for it. When Dean's fear of getting emotionally torn apart all over again finally subsided enough to allow him to believe this was really Sam, he wordlessly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his baby brother. Sam hugged him back and for the briefest moment, Dean felt whole again. After six months of going through the motions, he felt alive. He had his brother back, his reason for living.

The elation quickly settled, however, and he started questioning the pair, unable to understand how they could believe he was better off thinking Sam was burning in Hell. Their lame excuses of "_you were out_" and "_you were happy_" just weren't cutting it. Their words were telling him they were doing what was best for him but he couldn't help but be so disappointed at how little they understood him.

Neither Bobby nor Sam had seen or heard from Cas since that day at Stull cemetery when the younger Winchester had pulled Lucifer and Michael into the pit with him and Adam. Sam admitted to having tried calling him through prayer several times when he first got pulled from the cage looking for answers but Cas had never shown himself.

"So what are you doing here anyway?" Sam ventured, taking a seat at Bobby's kitchen table.

"Laney ran into some trouble," Bobby muttered, answering for him.

Sam raised a curious eyebrow. "Laney? She still on the rescue-Adam boat?" He looked to Dean and narrowed his eyes. "So she finally caved and came to see you."

Another jab of betrayal ran through Dean. "Did Laney know you were alive?" he demanded.

Sam shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah. Ran into her here at Bobby's about a month after I got topside."

Dean pursed his lips, far more upset than he would have expected by the fact that she hadn't told him. After her promise of 'no more lies' to him once he had discovered she had kept Adam a secret, he would have thought that…

Bobby seemed to notice the tensing of his shoulders for he spoke up on Laney's behalf.

"She wanted to tell you," he said gruffly. "We had to argue like the dickens to convince her you were better off out of the game, out of the life. I think you know why she eventually agreed, Dean."

Sam continued his telling of the story, showing no curiosity at the knowing look Bobby was now giving his older brother. "She was just grieving Adam up to that point but when she saw that I got out, she went off the rails," he said with a short laugh. "Figured if there was a way I could get out then Adam could too."

"But you don't know how you got out," Dean repeated what they had told him fifteen minutes ago.

Sam shook his head. "Nope. Laney and I tried to find out, chased down a couple of dead-end leads together, but nothing panned out." He got up and grabbed himself another beer from Bobby's fridge. "So what did she get into this time?"

Bobby explained the situation with the Kharon Hounds and that Laney was downstairs sleeping off the effects of their poison. Sam made no move to go see her or check on her himself. "So what's the plan?" he simply asked when the older man had finished filling him in. "Use her as bait to bring those hounds here and finish them off?"

"Dude!" Dean exclaimed in disbelief.

"What?" Sam fired back. "It's the logical move, Dean. If we don' kill them, they're gonna find her eventually and then she's as good as dead." He took another drink from his beer. "If you hadn't been mowing lawns for six months you might remember that," he added snidely.

"Dean he's right," Bobby interceded before Dean could give a rebuttal for Sam's friendly tease - _or was it friendly_?

As loathe as he was to admit it, Dean knew they were right. Even if he managed to convince Laney to stop these desperate and futile attempts to save Adam, she had pissed off the hounds and they wouldn't give up until she was dead. He had been planning on taking them out with Bobby before he went home; he just hadn't wanted Laney to be around when he did so, just in case. Admittedly, he didn't know of any other way to get them here.

"Alright," he relented. "When?"

"No time like the present," Sam stood up, looking almost eager.

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

'The present' turned into two hours later as they dug into Bobby's books looking for a sure fire way to kill the hounds. They had researched the heck out of these things three years ago, back when they knew the Hellhounds would be coming for Dean, and hadn't found a way to kill them then either.

In the end, it was decided that since they no longer had the Colt, Ruby's knife was the way to go. Dean had left it with Bobby when he had hung up his hunter's cap for civilian life and Bobby had in turn given it to Sam when the young hunter had shown up on his doorstep alive and kicking. The lore all seemed to agree that the Kharon hounds were actual demons, not just mindless pets like the regular Hellhounds, so what affected demons should work on them also. Dean voiced his reluctance to stake Laney's life on a mere assumption but both Bobby and Sam argued they had no choice, Bobby adding the comforting fact that they at least had the panic room for back-up.

They cleared Bobby's living room and added a few more devil's traps around the main floor, figuring they would hold the Kharon hounds. The plan was to put Laney in the middle of the room under the devil's trap on the ceiling and take her concealment hex bag away. The three hunters would flank her with shotguns and machetes and when the hounds showed up, hold them off with blasts of rock salt until they could stab them with the knife. The biggest hurdle, as Bobby pointed out, was that the dang dogs were invisible so a thin layer of flour was sprinkled across the living room floor.

When they were ready, Dean went downstairs to check on Laney. Her temperature was back to normal and she was sleeping soundly, breathing in healthy-sounding slow, even breaths. She looked so peaceful that he hesitated to wake her but decided they should do this before darkness fell.

A gentle shaking of the shoulders did the trick and a tired moan escaped her as she pulled herself to awareness, her blue eyes finding Dean perched on the side of the cot. She sat up and glanced warily around the room before he saw the recognition of where she was hit her.

"You brought me to Bobby's," she said in a hushed voice, sounding surprised.

"Course," Dean smiled at her. "Needed Dr. Quinn to take care of that nasty bite you got."

Her attention was drawn to her injured arm, which Bobby had rebandaged less than an hour ago and she winced slightly as she lifted it. "He's good, isn't he?" she said, giving Dean a tired smile in return.

Dean nodded. "The best," he agreed. But he didn't have time to chat about Bobby's many talents right now. "Listen, Laney, you think you can stand up? We need you to come upstairs."

She swung her legs off the side of the bed and took a couple of deep breaths before nodding. "Okay."

Dean stood up and offered her a hand. "We're gonna take out those Kharon hounds because they'll just keep coming after you if we don't," he explained as he pulled her gently to her feet.

He heard her gasp and her fingers tightened around his. "No, Dean, that's too dangerous," she shook her head. "I didn't mean for you to get involved. I didn't want you to get involved."

"Well, I'm involved and I'm not gonna let these frigging Cujo's touch you, okay?"

"No, you don't understand. They're hellhounds, Dean."

"Trust me; I know exactly what they are. But don't worry, we got a foolproof plan."

"Like what?" she was holding back and resisting his gentle tugging towards the tank's iron door.

He grinned, trying to put her at ease. "You'll see. Like you said; Bobby's good."

She still looked sceptical but followed him, not letting go of his hand. She was a little unsteady on her feet and gripped him tightly for support, especially when she tripped over the hem of Bobby's sweats at the door. Dean shot a second hand out to stop her from taking a tumble and had to suppress a laugh when she looked down at herself with an appalled look.

"What the hell am I wearing?"

"You want a grease-stained vest and a trucker's cap to complete the ensemble?" he joked as they climbed the wooden stairs out of the basement.

"Shut up, ye _**idjit**_," she laughed, mimicking Bobby's gruff drawl.

"I heard that!" Bobby called good-naturedly from the top of the stairs. The pair joined him and made their way down the hallway to the living room but Laney stopped short when she saw Sam leaning against the kitchen door jamb with his arms folded across his chest. Dean felt her fingers tighten around his arm and heard her sharp intake of breath. He looked up to see his brother's reaction.

Nothing. Sam just nodded as they entered. "Laney," he greeted her casually.

"Sam," she returned the greeting tersely and there was definitely a sudden underlying tension in the room. At first Dean assumed it was because she realized he now knew Sam was alive and that she hadn't told him but she gasped again and turned to look up at him, this fact clearly just dawning on her. "Oh, uhh..."

"Yeah, I know about Sam," Dean stated, a tad cooler than he had intended and he simply urged her to keep moving.

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

The three men ran Laney through the plan, shooting down her objections in rapid succession until it finally became clear she wasn't being given a choice and she relented with a sigh. Still feeling weak, she sat herself on the floor directly under the giant devil's trap on Bobby's ceiling and took the loaded shotgun Dean handed her.

"Can you make it to the panic room if things take a turn for the worse?" Dean asked her with a look of concern.

She nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not about to run away if you guys are in trouble so try to _**not**_ let things take a turn for the worse, okay?"

Not the answer Dean was looking for but he decided not to bother arguing with her. He nodded to Sam who proceeded to burn the hex bag that was concealing Laney from the hounds. The men stood poised and ready while Laney sat with a loaded shotgun across her lap. "I felt them coming last time," she told them as they all eyed the empty room warily. "We'll get some advance warning."

Dean shook his head. "That was because you connected yourself to them psychically when you did the binding spell," he told her. "That part's probably worn off by now. We'll just have to rely on tracks in the flour this time round."

She frowned. "Why don't I remember anything I did?" she asked. "I mean, I remember gathering the stuff and making the plan but after that…nothing. I woke up at your place. It's like I lost a full week."

"Cas brought you," Dean told her. "Maybe he wiped your memory to get you to try and stop."

"Cas the angel?" Laney gave him a sheepish look. "Oh. A chick angel showed up a couple of weeks back and tried to order me to stop messing with Lucifer's cage. She was a bitch."

Bobby shook his head. "It's usually a good idea not to piss off the angels, Laney."

"This coming from you three?" she snorted. "Besides, it was an angel that rode Adam down into the pit so they can all go to Hell for all I care."

Dean was about to say something in defence of Castiel when Sam cut in. "I'm curious; exactly what was your plan?" the younger Winchester asked her.

Dean didn't miss the long, wary stare she gave his brother before she answered. "I got a hold of a spell that could bind the Kharon hounds," she said, addressing them all. "They've got free reign in Hell and they can carry a soul down there so I figured they could carry one back up."

"What about a body?" Sam pressed. "Adam's body went down into the pit with mine, didn't it? The hounds can't carry that back up."

She shrugged. "I was just planning on stealing a John Doe. Turns out there's a disturbing number of unclaimed eighteen year olds in this country's morgues. It still would have been Adam on the inside."

Bobby groaned loudly in frustration. "Laney, a Kharon hound can maybe – and I stress _**maybe**_ – bring a soul from the pit but it could never cram the dang thing back in a body and it especially couldn't make that body alive and breathing again."

"Well, I had a plan for that part, too," she said, giving Dean in particular a hesitant glance.

"Do we even want to ask?" Dean said.

"I was going to capture a crossroads demon," she admitted quietly.

"WHAT?" Dean snapped, clenching his fists at his sides.

"I wasn't going to sell my soul!" Laney insisted. "I swear. Though that's a bit of the pot calling the kettle black, coming from you, Dean," she added defensively. He was mildly surprised at her knowledge of his deal for he had never told her, even after he had been brought back.

"Yeah, I know all about your deal and you going to hell and then Sam letting Lucifer topside and then taking him down along with Michael and Adam," she continued. "Sam told me everything."

Dean turned his glare on his brother. Not only had everyone decided to let Dean think Sam was dead, but his little brother had apparently been blabbing their whole, painful, sordid story. He debated commenting but his attention returned to the brunette as she kept talking.

"I was just planning on capturing the crossroads demon and threatening it to bring the body back to life. We already know they can do that – they do it all the time when making their deals."

"Laney, for starters, they can only pull a soul from heaven, not hell," Bobby ground out at her. "The demons were as surprised as anyone when Dean here made it back topside. Secondly, they can't do it without a soul. Your plan never woulda worked coz the power from a crossroad deal comes from a spell that gets its juice from the soul that gets sold. They _**can't**_ do it without a soul being given to them. Trust me, I learned this all first hand from Crowley."

Dean ran his hand down across his face in worried aggravation. "See, your plan wouldn't have worked," he said bluntly. "You would have just gotten yourself killed."

Laney didn't answer but still held a defiant look on her face that Dean didn't like. She wasn't giving up. He was going to have to do some major convincing after these hounds were taken care of.

"So if that was your plan," Sam interrupted, "Then chances are, you _**did**_ catch a crossroads demon or else you wouldn't have summoned the hounds."

Bobby let out another groan. "Which means there's a really pissed off red-eyed demon sitting in some devil's trap somewhere. Some unsuspecting civilian might come along and scrape the chalk and…"

Laney's eyes widened at the realization that she may very well have done this and inadvertently put some innocent person at risk. "I had the trap set up in my Yukon," she told them. "If I trapped one, it would probably still be in my car. I don't know where my car is but… it's got a GPS. I can track it so I'll go exorcize it as soon as we're done here."

Sam let out a chuckle. "Nah, let me take care of that one. I got a personal beef with crossroads demons anyway."

Laney's reply was cut short by the sound of a deep-throated growl. Everyone in the room tensed up and fell immediately silent, straining to locate the noise and anxiously watching for pawprints in the flour.

It came in from the kitchen, clawed prints forming eerily in the white powder. It paused a few steps into the room, right in the middle of one of the devil's traps drawn under the blanket of flour. All four hunters held their breath, waiting to see if it was trapped and would be much easier prey.

It wasn't. There was an angry snarl and the floor was scraped and scuffed in a pattern leaving no doubt the beast was leaping towards Laney in the middle of the room. Four shotguns sounded and a howl rang out into the room. Spatters of blood hit the ground just before the invisible writhing mass that smeared a large patch of flour when it hit and scrambled out of the way of the continuing barrage of salt rounds. The firing finally stopped as the three men and Laney lost track of the hound, their eyes all scanning the room in search of any sign of it.

It was Sam who called out a warning shout to Bobby when he noticed movement behind the older hunter. Bobby spun around to see evidence of it running right for him. Dean rushed towards his old friend and panicked for a quick second when he saw Bobby's alarmed gaze snap upwards to the empty space in front of his face. The butt of Bobby's rifle swung up to shield his head and then the older man was skidding across the floor, wrestling with some invisible form on top of him.

"Bobby!" Dean shouted, running towards the fray. Bobby slammed into the base of one of his bookshelves and the entire thing came toppling down on top of him. With books falling and flying all around, it was difficult to determine if Bobby's was the only body under the mess but Dean could definitely hear fierce snarling. He drew his machete as he approached but jerked around when he heard another growl from the front lobby.

He fired a panicked look at Sam, who was still at the edge of the overhead devil's trap a few feet from Laney. "Stay there! Cover her!" he ordered before charging forward to try and find the hound tangled in the bookcase. Bobby was on his back with his shotgun in the air until suddenly it was ripped out of his grasp and tossed aside, presumably by a very sharp set of teeth. Dean fired a salt round and dropped his shotgun to swing the machete across the space above the struggling hunter, trying very hard not to be distracted by the sound of multiple shots ringing out from the behind him.

The blade found purchase, opening a decent sized wound somewhere on the beast. Dean instantly swung again, determined not to let the hound slip back into invisibility. He kept going, feeling its location out a little more with every strike before finally bringing the machete down on its neck, slicing right through it with a squelch and a crunch. The yelping ended abruptly and he straightened up, panting as his eyes searched out Bobby. The older hunter was covering his head with his arms, which were now covered in the blood of the Kharon hound.

Dean reached out to pull Bobby to his feet but his attention was snatched by the ominous sound of Sam's shotgun clicking empty. He spun around to see his brother standing next to a kneeling Laney, whose gun had also fired its last round. The low growl by the kitchen door was still dishearteningly healthy-sounding and the flour started flying.

Dean watched in terror as the large and fast pawprints headed straight for Laney but his brother didn't make a move. He didn't shift his bulk in front of Laney or pull her out of the beast's trajectory, both of which would have been Dean's instincts. Instead, Sam simply stood off to the side with Ruby's knife in his hand, an unhurried and unworried expression on his face. Dean knew the moment the beast leapt in the air, making its final forceful lunge for the brunette and he cried out in pleading panic, the imminent horror of watching Laney ripped to shreds playing in his mind. "**SAM!**"

Laney felt the beast coming at her but she only had time to throw her arm up over her head and fall backwards onto her other elbow. A strangled gasp escaped her as she braced for the hound's impact and the pain of its teeth sinking into her flesh again. _Hopefully it would be her arm and not her neck,_ was all she could think. Not being able to see it coming but knowing it was about to happen anyway only made the fear worse and she spared a thought of regret that Dean was here to see this – to see her die.

But the hound never reached her. She could practically feel its hot breath on her face and hear its low, throbbing snarl before a strong arm swept in front of her, bicep rippling as it slammed a gleaming knife into the invisible bulk bearing down on her, throwing it off its trajectory enough to send it tumbling to the floor beside her with a heavy thud and an ear-piercing howl of pain.

One of Sam's long limbs stepped over her as the hound fell, his free hand reaching forward to locate its furry bulk and hold it in place before he withdrew the blade and stabbed it right back in again and again and again. Laney scrambled out from under the fierce-looking hunter in time to hear the last sickening crunch of bone and see the twitching of claws in the sprinkled flour come to a stop.

Sam straightened up and gave them all a slight smirk through his heavy breaths. "Just gotta wait for the right moment," he panted, offering an outstretched hand to Laney to help her to her feet.

Laney took a second to react, throwing a quick glance at Dean for reassurance before accepting his brother's help up.

"Right moment?" Dean rasped, the remnants of his fear still influencing his tone. "More like the last second!"

Sam shrugged. "Sometimes they're the same thing," he defended, pursing his lips slightly at his brother's disapproving look.

Bobby, on the other hand, was nodding in obvious approval, watching the blood pooling around an unmoving, invisible form on his living room floor. "You've got some serious skills these days, kid."

Sam smiled, giving his brother a bit of a '_so there_' glare. "Glad somebody thinks so," he mumbled, heading over to the hound Bobby and Dean had taken down to make sure it was dead by sticking its body a few times with Ruby's knife also.

Dean was at Laney's side already, gripping her arm for support as she was clearly not yet back to full strength and appeared to be swaying slightly. "You okay?" he asked worriedly.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." She gave him a convincing smile and he finally allowed himself to relax. He led her over to the couch and sat her down before turning to Bobby.

"So what do we do with Lassie and Rin Tin Tin?" he questioned.

Bobby was already grabbing the bag of salt from the hall cupboard. "We get them outside and bury them six feet under," he said. "Right after we drown 'em in salt and torch their furry asses."

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

Outside, Sam and Dean dug the hole while Bobby monitored from where he was perched on the fender of an old Dodge pick-up truck, holding a spotlight for the brothers to see what they were doing.

"So Dean," Sam ventured after twenty minutes of silent digging. "Now that the cat's out of the bag, you gonna join me?"

"What?" Dean was caught off guard by the question. He had decided he owed it to Lisa and Ben to go back there and try and make up for the mess he'd brought into their lives, but that had been before Sam had shown up. His mind raced through the new possibilities and Sam's offer. Working with his brother again, hunting things, saving people…

_Watching his brother get hurt again, die again, living each day knowing it was very likely his last, having the weight of saving people – or the entire freaking planet – on his shoulders, failing people, living a life too dangerous to bring kids into, a life with no room for love or romantic attachments, a life where people he loved died on a regular basis…_

"No," he answered simply. "I'm going back to Lisa and Ben."

Sam's head jerked sharply around to face him. "What?"

"You heard me."

"But why?"

"Look, you're the one who told me to go make a life with her. You made me promise, as a matter of fact. I kept that promise and I can't just up and leave them now that you show up." Dean didn't make eye contact with his brother; he just kept digging.

"But what about Laney?" Sam pressed. "I thought… I mean, you two…"

"What about her?" Dean cut him off. "You're the one who told me to find someone who _**wasn't**_ in the hunting life. Someone that had nothing to do with it. You insisted I leave it all behind me, everything that had anything to do with hunting. You said live a normal, apple pie life. I just did as you asked. I'm with Lisa now."

"Huh," Sam said simply, returning to digging alongside his brother. "So you don't want to help me track down Laney's Yukon and gank the crossroads demon then?"

Dean just shook his head. "Nah. You seem to be pretty sharp with your skills these days. I'm sure you can take care of it without me."

"So when you heading out?" Bobby asked down the hole.

"As soon as I convince Laney to stop this suicide mission she's on," Dean replied. "Speaking of…" He stopped digging and leaned on the handle of his shovel. "I have no idea how I'm gonna do that. She's so damn stubborn and…" he sighed, averting his eyes from his brother's, "…and I know how she feels. I know what it's like to want someone back so badly that you just don't give a damn what happens to you anymore."

Sam let out an amused snort. "Convincing Laney should be easy, dude."

"Oh?"

"Dean, there's one thing in this world that girl cares about as much as Adam. Just use that."

Dean frowned uncomfortably as it dawned on him that his brother was referring to him, Dean Winchester. He gave Bobby a questioning glance from the bottom of the hole and the older man just shrugged as if to say Sam had a point.

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

Sam left as soon as the bodies of the hounds were buried, not even bothering to go back inside to say good-bye to Laney. He ignored Dean's teasing remarks about his new wheels, a brand new shiny black Dodge Charger, and turned down his brother's offer to take the Impala instead. Sam insisted he liked his ride just fine and told Dean to call him anytime as he gave him a stiff hug. Dean returned the hug and the offer and watched the car speed its way out of the junkyard, still feeling a strange emptiness in the place that should feel full now that his brother was alive and well.

Okay, alive anyway. He was … different. But Dean knew better than anyone that Hell changed a person, even if it was only a two-week stint.

Back inside, he decided he'd better get started convincing Laney so he could get back to Lisa and Ben by morning. Bobby tactfully made some excuse to do some work out in the yard and left Dean sitting on the couch next to the tired girl.

"Listen, Laney," he started, deciding just to cut right to the chase. "Cas said the angels are going to kill you if you don't stop messing with Lucifer's cage. He's not lying. You need to stop."

She leaned back into the couch, letting out a deep breath. "Dean, I am so sorry for getting you mixed up in this. I know I screwed up. I don't know how I messed up my plan but I obviously did but…but I'm _**so**_ close. The fact that the angels are threatening me is just proof that I'm close; that there is a way to get into - and _**out of**_ - the cage and that I'm on the right track. I can't stop now; I'm so close."

Dean's heart sank with her determined words and he shook his head at her, leaning forward and turning to face her. "No, Laney. It won't work. Cas said there _**is no way**_. This won't end well for you and it won't end the way you want for Adam."

"Cas didn't kill me before," Laney argued. "He brought me to you instead."

"That was your last chance with them," Dean told her, staring into her eyes for a long moment before realizing she didn't care about the wrath of the angels. "Look," he said more softly. "I know you think you're onto something but you won't succeed. Say you had actually managed to force the hounds to bring Adam's soul topside, then the crossroads demon would have had you right where he wanted you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you would have been one breath away from having Adam back and the demon would have been telling you all he needed was a yes from you and he could pop Adam into that body you snagged for him. All it would take was your soul, '_that's it, one measly word, one measly soul, small price to pay, just say yes_'." He mimiked the demon's argument and gave her a hard look. "What would you have done in that situation?"

Her silence answered the question for him. She would have done what he would have done, what Sam had tried to do when it was Dean doing time downstairs, what his dad had done when Dean was in a coma, what Bobby had done when the boys needed Death's location to send Lucifer back to his cage…

"Adam wouldn't want that," he told her firmly. "I got a chance to meet the kid for real in the couple of days we had him before Michael got a hold of him. First thing he did was ask for you. He loves you like a sister, Laney and trust me when I say it's crueller to let him live with the knowledge you're burning in hell because of him than to just move on without him."

"But _**he's**_ burning in hell, Dean! He's not hitting the best-memory repeat button upstairs. You know what it's like down there; how can you be trying to stop me? He's _**your**_ brother!"

"Sam wouldn't tell me much about his time downstairs," Dean told her. "But he did say Michael is protecting Adam from Lucifer's wrath since Adam was an obedient vessel and all. He says …"

"I don't care what Sam says," Laney interrupted. "I don't trust him. I know it's not his fault and that his two weeks down there was actually five years and that five years of being the single object of Lucifer's anger had to be… rough, but…" She gave him an apologetic look and her eyes saddened. "I'm sorry, Dean, but your brother's changed and he was only there two weeks. Adam's been there six months. That's even longer than you were there. What if Michael gets tired of protecting him? What if Lucifer needed a new plaything once Sam got out?" She shook her head. "Sorry, but I'm not giving up on him. I'm going to get him out of there."

"What happened between you and Sam?" Dean blurted, unable to contain his curiosity about the tension between the two any longer. "He says you guys hunted together for a bit, looking for a lead on what pulled him out, but I can tell there's some bad water between you two now. You wanna tell me what happened?"

She winced, looking like she was seriously wishing she wasn't at the end of the couch and could slide herself further away from Dean. "Why don't you just forget about it and go back to your life at Lisa's?" she said almost pleadingly.

Dean wasn't letting her off that easy. "No, I want to know." He suddenly raised an eyebrow at her, a thought occurring to him and everything suddenly making sense. "Oh, wait," he breathed. "Did you guys…did you and him…you know… Is this like a lover's quarrel thing?" He knew he had no right to be jealous but right now, his insides were knotting up at the thought. Of all the girls in the world, Sammy had to go for Laney? Mellie? _**His**_ Mellie?

"No!" she answered quickly, actually blushing a little at the accusation. "No, of course not. It's nothing like that."

Dean couldn't help the breath of relief that escaped him.

"Like I told you," she continued, clearly feeling the need now to explain. "He's changed. He…" she swallowed and closed her eyes, slumping further into the couch.

"He killed my father."

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

_**Three months ago…**_

Sam and Laney had run into each other at Bobby's about a month after she got back from Asia. After her initial shock of discovering he was still alive and after the three thousand questions she threw at him about Adam and how Sam got out, Sam agreed to work with her to try and find out what had pulled him topside.

They travelled around in their two cars, Sam now driving a Dodge Charger he had taken as payment for saving a rich man's life from the ghost of his double-crossed business partner and Laney still driving Amy's Yukon. They got separate motel rooms every night though Laney soon discovered Sam seldom spent the nights alone, entertaining everything from bar sluts to waitresses to hookers on a regular basis, and often more than one at a time. He had changed so much from the shy, awkward guy she had shared a room with a couple of years ago in Arizona, but he was the closest thing she had to a lead so she stuck with him. She had been grieving Adam all over again, this time far worse knowing he was in the very worst corner of Hell rather than in heaven where he should have stayed, but when she saw Sam was out, then she knew there was a chance for Adam.

Attempts to call Cas proved futile and their only successful attempt at summoning an angel almost resulted in them both being smote by a very pissed off Cherub of junior rank named Farahlene.

Eventually, about five weeks in to their partnership, they got wind of a crystal that, with the help of some very dark magic, could apparently show a person details of their past. The pair figured if they used it on Sam, maybe they could figure out what happened in the blank spot in his memory of the moment he was 'saved'.

It became clear they weren't going to be able to steal the crystal as it belonged to a seven hundred year old witch who had it so well-guarded they would end up dead or turned into furry woodland creatures before they got within ten feet of it. Laney had therefore put the Milligan's house up for sale to pay the fifty-thousand dollar fee this witch charged to allow a one-time use of this crystal. At the extremely low 'must-sell' price, the house was sold within a week and she and Sam headed to Windom so she could take care of the paperwork.

They were crashing in the empty house for the night and Sam had gone to get food, leaving Laney alone with her memories of the place and a chance to say goodbye in private. That was when her father had shown up.

She hadn't seen him since the day she had testified in court when she was ten years old. He had been sentenced to thirteen years but received parole after only seven under the condition he was to have no contact with his then-teenage daughter. Despite not having seen him in almost twenty years, she recognized him instantly and gasped, taking an involuntary step backwards when she answered the door thinking it was Sam with the take-out.

For a few seconds, she had become Mellie again, that terrified, scared little girl he had controlled with fear and he took advantage of her momentary lapse to push his way inside the house. She was mostly silent as he rambled on about how much he had changed and how sorry he was and that she was still his little girl, and when she did speak it was simply to tell him to leave.

He ignored her request, continuing his sob story about how he had turned to alcohol again to deal with his guilt but had recently turned his life around and joined AA and my God she looked so much like her mother, so beautiful and all grown up. He had discovered this house was in her name and when it went up for sale, he thought he might find her here so he'd been watching the place. Laney remained a good distance from him and told him again to leave, this time more forcefully.

"I don't want to hear your excuses," she finally spat at him. "Nothing you can ever do or say can make up for what you did. You're a pathetic excuse for a human being and I hope you live a long, miserable, lonely life knowing you've just got Hell to look forward to when you die. Now get out of my house!"

His pleading look instantly turned dark and ominous and it was then she knew for certain he hadn't changed at all. He lunged forward and grabbed her wrist. "I'm still your father, Mellie, and you'll speak to me with some damn respect."

She yanked her hand away and swung at him, her fist connecting with his jaw and spraying a splatter of spit and blood as his head snapped sideways from the impact. "I'm not afraid of you anymore," she challenged him, holding her ground. "You're nothing to me."

He let out an enraged growl and sprung at her, his fists flying. "You little bitch!"

She sidestepped him easily and slammed her closed hand downwards into the back of his neck as he overbalanced, a basic self-defence move John Winchester had taught her. She was so intently focused on this figure from her past that she didn't notice the tall, well-built shadow of Sam Winchester entering the room until he stepped forward and effortlessly yanked Lou Gorham upright, putting him in a restraining chokehold. With his thick, muscular forearm wrapped around the older man's neck, he looked at Laney. "Who's this?" he asked, his expression betraying mild curiosity at best.

"My father," she replied, her voice wavering slightly.

"Oh." One side of Sam's lip curled up into a snarl and he tightened his grip around Laney's father's neck, bringing the other hand up to yank the man's face sharply sideways at least ninety degrees. A loud, sickening series of cracks sounded before Sam simply let go, allowing the body to drop to the floor where the head flopped around before coming to rest at a completely unnatural angle.

Laney stifled a scream, instead letting out a chortled gasp as she stared in horror at the shape on the floor, unmoving and clearly dead. "What…what did you do?" she finally gasped, moving her gaze to the tall hunter.

Sam shrugged. "Just looking out for you."

She shook her head fervently. 'I was fine! You didn't have to… you didn't have to do that!"

Sam frowned. "I was just ridding the world of a monster, Laney. That's what we do. I know about what he did to you when you were little. He didn't deserve to live."

She didn't know what to say, the insanity of the situation still overwhelming her.

"You can't tell me you didn't want him dead," Sam argued, practically rolling his eyes at her.

"I didn't want this," she breathed, taking a step back from him as he stepped forward with what was possibly intended as a comforting outstretched arm. "Why would you do that?" she asked him, desperately trying to understand.

Sam let out an annoyed huff. "A simple thank-you would be nice, you know."

"You want me to say thank-you for murdering my father?" she said incredulously.

Another eye roll. "Actually, I was kinda hoping for a thank-you _**lay**_ but I'm guessing that's not gonna happen." He walked over to the bottom stair by the door and picked up the take-out bag he had apparently dropped there, rummaging around inside until he found his chickenburger.

"Can we at least eat before we go bury him?"

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

Dean listened in stunned silence as she relayed the story. He remembered what he had become in Hell once he had stepped off that rack; how thirty years of taking it had allowed him to revel in dishing out as much pain as he could possibly inflict and in increasingly creative ways. But he also remembered how that had all ended the moment his soul had been stuffed back inside his body. Sure, the guilt and the memories still plagued him to this day, but he had instantly become aware once more of the distinction between right and wrong. He and Sam had been taught their whole lives that killing humans for human crimes was not justified. Hunters took out the supernatural. Period. Their jurisdiction ended there. Although Dean had seen a jagged line that witches and murdering psychics fell on the wrong side of, Sam had always argued their cases, insisting that hunters should not become vigilantes.

Granted, on many occasions over the past twenty years, Dean had thought of murdering the abusive son of a bitch who had so badly mistreated Mellie, but he was fairly certain he wouldn't have actually killed him unless he posed a direct threat to Laney. Maybe Sam had just misread the situation? Maybe he had thought Laney was in real danger?

No, he realized. Sam _**was**_ different. He could see that after only spending three hours with him. Whatever Sam's hell had been like, it must have been worse than Dean's for Sam had always been the strong one, the more resilient brother, at least in Dean's opinion. Sam was the one who had managed to hang on to his morals and his compassion through all the crap life had thrown at them. Dean couldn't imagine a Hell worse than the one he had suffered, but Sam must have endured it to have changed so drastically.

But that was a problem for another day. His mission today was to stop Laney from getting herself killed. A mission for which he realized now he was going to have to stoop to a low level to accomplish.

"I'm sorry, Laney," he said. "For what Sam did. Honestly, I don't think I could have run into your father without taking a few swings myself but… but I know that doesn't excuse what he did." He cleared his throat. "But back to you poking the sleeping bear," he said, shelving the worry about Sam's current state.

"I won't bring this mess to your doorstep again, I promise."

"That's not what I'm worried about," he snorted. "That was Cas's doing; that wasn't your fault and I'm glad he did. It's about stopping this suicide mission you're on. I need you to promise you'll stop."

She rolled her head tiredly towards him on the couch headrest. "I promised I wouldn't lie to you ever again," she said. "And I meant it. I mean, if I had seen you, I would have told you about Sam being alive. But I can't leave Adam down there, Dean, so I can't promise you that I'll stop because I would be lying."

Dean swallowed, knowing what he was going to have to do and knowing also that it would work. Having this much power over her, over anyone, was terrifying. Sam had always held this kind of power over Dean, as had John, but he had never before known what it was like to realize he had it in return and he felt guilty wielding it now. He took her hand in his.

"Laney, I know I'm with Lisa and I have no right to ask you this but… but I'm going to anyway," he said, locking his green eyes on her blue ones. "I need you to stop. Will you do it … _**for me**_?"

Laney gave him a shocked and pained look and started to slide her hand out from his but he curled his fingers around it and held it more tightly, his hard gaze never wavering.

"Adam's like a brother to me," she choked. "You're asking me to give up my brother for you. You can't ask that of me."

"No," Dean corrected her. "I'm asking you to live. It's what Adam would want and damnit, Laney, I don't want to see you die." He paused for effect. "I can't let you die. I'm barely hanging on as it is," he admitted with raw honesty. "Sam being back is great, it is, but you matter too." He reached up and lifted the locket she still had on the chain around her neck, pressing it between his fingers. "You matter too, Laney. Remember? You matter _to me_."

She had told him once the first time she ever felt like she mattered was when he had given her the locket and he needed her to feel that sentiment again now, to realize how important she was to him and that her life wasn't something he could allow her to throw away, even to save Adam from the cage. He wanted her to know that he wouldn't be able to bear it if she died…

"Okay," she whispered.

_Holy crap, Sam was right_, Dean realized. She was doing it for him.

Well, almost. "But you have to let me at least keep looking," she continued. "Especially since I'm so close, but…" She gave him an almost pleading look, begging him to tell her she could keep trying without hurting him but he remained silent, refusing to give her an out. "But I promise I won't do anything until I run it by…Bobby. How about that?"

He knew she had been going to say his name but changed it to Bobby's when she realized that would imply keeping him involved and keeping in touch with him and she dared not ask for that. While he was with Lisa that was more than a little awkward so he didn't argue. "You promise not to try anything at all and keep Bobby in the loop?" he pressed.

She nodded.

"And if he says it's too dangerous then you listen to him?"

She nodded again.

"And you won't antagonize the angels?"

Another nod.

"Okay," he said finally. "I can live with that. Bobby won't let you do anything foolish." He leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to her forehead before drawing back and standing up. "I need to get going," he said simply, fighting the sudden urge coming over him to sweep her into his arms and kiss her and tell her he was never leaving her. _Crap, he needed to get out of here fast._

"Take care of yourself, Laney," he said sincerely. "And there's this new invention called a phone; if you're in trouble, just call me, okay?"

"I will," she replied softly, not moving from where she still sat on the couch.

He gave her a lingering look before turning to grab his coat from the stair railing and head outside.

"Dean?"

He turned back to face her. "Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're happy. You deserve it."

"So do you," was all he could say in return. "So do you." He nodded goodbye and walked out, reaching his truck just as Bobby pulled back into the yard.

"Headin' out already?" the older man inquired.

"Yeah, I didn't leave things very well at home," he replied. "I need to get back and smooth things over."

Bobby reached out for a handshake before pulling him into a rough hug. "You take care of yourself, son. And don't be such a stranger."

Dean nodded in agreement as Bobby released him. "Laney agreed to check with you before doing anything about Adam."

"I'll keep her in line, don't you worry. You get back to your life."

Dean still hesitated. "Bobby, can I ask you something?"

"Course. Shoot."

"It's about Sam. Is he…does he seem different to you?"

Bobby let out a long contemplative sigh. "Yeah, he does. But he was in Hell, Dean. I didn't expect you to come out the same person you were when you went in; why would Sam be any different? I mean, he was Lucifer's bitch for 'bout five years hell-time. I will tell you this though; kid's one hell of a hunter now. Better 'n' you or me ever were. He's sharp as a tack."

"What about him and Laney?"

Bobby shrugged. "They were working together for about six weeks, showing up here from time to time, but then something happened coz they just started showing up separately and don't really speak to each other now. I don't know what it was but…"

"Sam killed her father," Dean filled him in. "Her _**human**_ father. Snapped his neck."

Even Bobby couldn't hide his shock at hearing what Sam had done from his face, but he recovered quickly. "Well her daddy was a real son of a bitch," he defended. "Some people just ain't meant to be parents and I can't say I blame the kid for taking him out. A man who beats and abuses kids and women is as much a monster as some of the things we hunt, son."

Dean shook his head, having no idea Bobby was talking from experience. "Even so, the Sam I knew wouldn't have killed him."

Bobby narrowed his eyes. "He's still yer brother, Dean."

"Is he?"

He got no answer and didn't push the subject, instead turning and getting into his truck. He gave Bobby a half-hearted wave as he pulled out of the yard and headed back to Indiana.

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

Laney had regained her strength and was feeling much better by morning when Sam called Bobby from Montana to say there had indeed been a crossroads demon in her Yukon but that he had taken care of it. He had also placed an anonymous call about the dead body stinking up the nearby abandoned house that he guessed had been where she had performed the binding spell that Cas had interrupted. He gave Bobby the address where he had left the Yukon and the salvage yard owner insisted to Laney that he drive her to get it. Not relishing the idea of hitchiking wearing Bobby's plaid shirt and boxers, she quickly agreed.

They were just heading outside to Bobby's Chevelle when Cas made an appearance, popping in right next to them on the back porch.

Laney jumped in fright and Bobby let out a startled "Geez, Cas! Y'idjit! A little warning, next time! This here ticker ain't getting any younger."

"I'm sorry, Bobby," Cas said politely, staring at them both in turn. "I don't have long. I just came by to check that Melanie Pearce had survived. I thought Dean would probably bring her here." He frowned at her.

Bobby snickered. "Laney, this is Cas, your knight in shining armor."

"Knight?" Cas turned in Bobby's direction. The father figure to the Winchester boys had always made liberal use of human slang expressions and euphemisms, more so than even Dean, and Cas often found his meaning hard to figure out.

"Well wasn't it you who saved her from the Kharon hounds when they broke their spell?"

Cas shook his head. "I merely removed her from the scene. In fact, they wouldn't have broken free if I hadn't shown up and startled Melanie into fumbling the binding words." He looked towards the door behind them. "Dean has left." He didn't phrase it as a question since he could sense his former charge was no longer here.

Laney was a step behind the conversation. "Wait," she said slowly. "You were there. I remember you. So I didn't screw up; you did? My plan might have worked?"

Cas shook his head and addressed her in a stern, threatening voice. "No. Your plan was foolish and like you were told before, we cannot allow you to continue. You must cease these dangerous attempts to penetrate Lucifer's cage."

She took a step back and swallowed. "I'm backing off, don't worry. Dean made me promise."

Cas's frown returned. "I thought he would have stayed here."

Bobby's face drew into a scowl. "And what, jump back into hunting? After all your kind put him through?"

Cas ignored the accusation, knowing it wasn't meant for him personally but for his brethren. He looked back at the slim, dark-haired girl standing next to Bobby. "I thought he would have stayed because..." he started, not finishing the thought out loud.

Bobby arched an eyebrow under his trucker's cap, noting the angel's direct glance at Laney. "Well, I'll be damned, Roma Downey," he chuckled. "I never would have figured you'd pick up on that. Not exactly your area of expertise."

Cas knew had much to learn about human relationships, but given the mark Dean and this girl both bore, he had thought they would have been drawn together and fallen in love upon their very first meeting. It would seem that hadn't happened but the fact that Dean had gone back to the other humans he was currently living with meant these two had resisted the pull of the binding mark yet again. He reached out, probing very slightly into the girl's mind but pulled back quickly, even more confused by what he had found. She would do anything Dean asked of her yet she had let him leave.

Human emotions still baffled him.

"Was it you who freed Sam from the cage?" Laney asked him, interrupting his musings.

He shook his head. "No. No angel has the power to have done that." He turned back to Bobby. "I must get back," he said curtly but Bobby stopped him.

"Wait, Cas, I need a bit of a favor."

"Of course," Cas agreed immediately. He had missed the companionship of his human friends this past six months and was actually glad for an excuse to prolong this visit despite the urgency of matters in the ongoing fight with Raphael. "What is it?"

"Well, it's Sam." The words came out on the tail end of a defeated sigh. "He's different and I've been turning a blind eye to it so far, telling myself he was in hell and he's just dealing with that crap but I know in my bones he just ain't right. I was wonderin' if you could maybe go see him? Maybe your angel radar can pick up on something we can't?"

Cas furrowed his brow as he took in his human friend's words. Could Crowley have made a mistake? Or worse, could Crowley have tricked him? Was it not Sam Winchester's soul that had been thrust back inside the body Cas himself had retrieved and revived from twenty feet below the ground surface at Stull Cemetery in Kansas? He had done a quick check and all of Sam's memories had been intact and the body had been healthy so he had simply left before the young hunter had woken up, not wanting him to know of the shameful deal he had made to save him. Had he _**not**_ saved him?"

"I'll try," he said simply before disappearing.

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

It was two hours later that Cas popped up in Bobby's back seat, dragging a gasping and wheezing Sam along for the ride.

"Sam's soul is missing," he said bluntly, addressing the older driver of the car and ignoring the sudden swerve caused by Bobby's reaction to their unexpected appearance.

When he had managed to straighten out the car, Bobby pulled it over onto the shoulder and twisted around in his seat. "Come again?"

"This is Sam's body and it is perfectly healthy but his soul is missing," Cas elaborated.

"Dude, let me go," Sam barked, pulling his elbow roughly out of the angel's grasp and slumping back in the seat, looking exhausted and in pain.

"Sam was not pleased with my intrusion," Cas explained the younger Winchester's reaction. "Checking for a soul is painful for the recipient."

Sam snorted. "That's putting it mildly. Bobby, tell this dick I'm just fine and I don't need his help."

"He's got no soul?" Bobby addressed Cas, ignoring Sam completely. "What in the Hell does that mean?"

"I fear his soul may still be locked in the cage with Lucifer," Cas said blankly. "It seems only his body and his memories were retrieved in tact."

"I knew it!" Laney cried, eyeing Sam wildly. "I knew there was something wrong with you!"

"There's nothing wrong with me," Sam fired back, narrowing his eyes at her. "I'm perfectly fine."

"What do you feel, Sam?" Cas asked his disgruntled captive.

"PAIN where you shoved your hand into my freaking chest," was Sam's snarky reply.

"I mean emotionally."

Sam's hesitation to answer said it all.

Bobby sighed. "Damnit, kid," he said quietly to Sam before turning back to Cas. "Should we tell Dean?"

Cas tilted his head in deliberation. "Sam did not want Dean to know he was alive, much less burden him with this new discovery," he spoke for the hunter next to him who was currently glaring at him.

"Well Sam ain't got no soul so I don't give a rat's ass what he wants," Bobby fired back. "And Dean found out Sam's alive last night."

"No, we shouldn't tell him," Laney spoke up, feeling guilty already for even contemplating the deceit. "He has a life, Bobby. A house, a kid, even a little white picket fence and a yard to mow twice a week. I've seen it. If he asks, we won;t lie but let's leave him out of this for as long as we can. Once we figure out a way to get Sam's soul back, then we tell him."

Bobby nodded his agreement and Laney twisted in her seat once more to look directly at Sam. "Maybe now you'll be a bit more willing to help me find a way to get Adam out," she added with an icy tone. "Coz you're still down there too."

"I'm sitting right freaking here and I'm just fine," Sam countered. "I don't need my soul back. Hell, I don't want it."

Cas nodded, distracted by his inward planning of how he was going to destroy Crowley for his treachery. "That is probably true," he blurted. "Your soul will have taken much punishment and could be irreparable by now. You may be better off without it."

"No he's not," Laney voiced her opinion quickly.

Bobby thought of all the things he had noticed wrong with Sam over the past six months and then thought of the kid he used to know, with the sensitive nature and the brave heart and the puppy dog eyes that soulless Sam neglected to use anymore. "No, kid, you're getting your soul back whether you like it or not."

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**_A/N: _**_I have to send out a HUGE thank-you for all of you who have read, alerted, fave'd, and especially reviewed this story. You guys are the best and you seriously make this so much fun for me!_


	10. PART 5 Chapter 10

_**Previously**: Sam and Dean killed the hounds after Laney and Dean made her promise she wouldn't do anything without checking with Bobby first. Dean then went back to Lisa and Ben, feeling like he wasn't ready to get back into hunting and the hard emotional toll that life has taken on him so far. Meanwhile, Cas discovered Sam has no soul and revealed this to Bobby and Laney who, despite Sam's objections, are now looking for a way to get both Sam's and Adam's souls back. They decided to leave Dean out of it and not tell him until they had found a definite way to do this._

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**CHAPTER 10 **

_**One week later...**_

It was seven days after Cas discovered Sam Winchester had no soul that he found the smarmy demon who was supposed to have put it back in. Well, it was actually the other way around and Crowley did the finding, popping up on the grass next to Cas to see if the angel had reconsidered his offer yet. Cas's hand was immediately wrapped around the demon's neck pinning him into a nearby tree.

"You lied," he said menacingly, getting right up in Crowley's face.

"Hey, easy on the Armani, Rambo," his English accent squeaked past the fingers on his throat. "What are you talking about?"

"Sam Winchester's soul is still in the pit."

Cas didn't miss the flicker of fear that crossed the demon's face before a sheepish grin appeared. "Oh," he said simply. "You noticed that, did you? I can explain."

"Or you can just die."

Crowley actually rolled his eyes. "If you'd wanted me dead I'd be a smoted pile of ash already," he pointed out. "Let go of my throat and let's discuss this like civilized gents, shall we?"

Cas glared but released the demon. He was fairly certain he could kill Crowley with a swish of his hand and the strangling had, in fact, just been for effect. Well, that and it felt good.

Crowley took a second to straighten his coat and his shirt before taking a step back. "I did try and get Winchester out," he defended. "But it would seem the cage is as demon-proof as it is angel-proof."

"So there is no way to get Sam's soul out without restarting the Apocalypse and re-breaking sixty-six more seals?"

"Now, I didn't say that," Crowley said quickly. "I am still working on one angle."

"Are you saying you were still planning on returning Sam's soul to his body and hoping I didn't mind that you lied the first time around?"

"No, actually I was hoping you wouldn't notice the damn thing was missing in the first place but since you did..."

"How do I get it out?"

Crowley let out a dramatic sigh. "Well that's what I'm still working on. Turns out there's a back door to the cage."

"Well use it," Cas raised his voice in impatience. "You've got a week or I will destroy you."

"Wait a minute, Quick Draw, wait just a minute." The demon gave him a condescending look that just annoyed Cas further. "This back door isn't really accessible to me and my kind."

Cas narrowed his eyes at him. "You expect me to walk into Hell with you? How gullible do you think I am?"

Crowley snorted and shook his head. "Well aren't you full of yourself? You can't open it either, I'm afraid. Besides, I may be King of Hell but if any angel other than the Morning Star himself showed his face down there in these turbulent times..." He drew his finger in a line across his throat to indicate what would happen to Cas. "Not even I could save you, mate." He folded his arms across his chest and smirked. "And I've still got a vested interest in you."

"I will not join you to search for Purgatory."

"Ah, but I believe you will, Cas Ol' Boy. Word is your generals are getting nervous. More and more of your troops are crossing the lines and heading back to Raphael's camp. You need me. I'm your only hope, Obi-Wan."

"You're useless to me," Cas fired back, having no idea what an Obi-Wan was and therefore deciding to just ignore the moniker. "You can't even retrieve a single soul from your own back yard." The angel gave a dismissive wave of his hand and made to leave.

"But what if I could?" Crowley taunted. "What if I could get Winchester's soul back into his oversized meatsuit?"

Cas gritted his teeth but stayed where he was. _The demon certainly was a persistent bastard._

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Dean had been back at Lisa's for a week and as hard as he was trying to fall back into the pattern they had established, he knew things were different. He kept apologizing for putting them in danger and Lisa kept insisting it was alright and that it was in the past but things had changed between them. Something had changed in Dean and he had grown restless.

He wandered into the garage and pulled the cover off the Impala, running his hand fondly along the smooth line of his baby's rear side panel. He had done this a hundred times in the last six months and had always covered her up again quickly, swallowing against the lump that would form in his throat at her familiar curves and her faded-leather-and-engine-oil smell. This time he hopped up onto her hood, sitting with his back against her windshield with a beer in his hand as he had a thousand starry nights with Sam over the years.

Things were different now. A week ago he had nowhere else to go, nothing else to live for. A week ago he would have thought his life here with the Braedens would be just fine if it weren't for the one single detail of being forced to live with the knowledge that Sam was in hell. Well Sam wasn't in hell anymore. Furthermore, Sam didn't need him anymore. The kid had made that abundantly clear by not coming to get him when he first got out.

But even though that detail had been taken out of the equation, his life wasn't just fine. Adam was still his brother and he was still in the cage, the only human now trapped between the world's two biggest dicks. Sam was out but ... he'd changed. Then there was Laney. Seeing her again had stirred up old feelings and memories like they were yesterday. His feelings of want and need and obligation were pulling him in all different directions and he couldn't seem to clear his head. He cracked open the beer and wished he had a neutral ear to talk to. He needed a friend. He needed Cas.

"Cas?" he called out loud for the first time since Sam had taken that swan dive. "Cas? Buddy? You around?" No answer. "Now I lay me down to drink, I pray to Cas my…uh, kitchen sink."

"Dean."

Just like old times, the angel appeared standing way too close to where Dean was sitting on the hood. Dean couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from turning upwards as he shifted himself subtly away from the edge, freeing up his personal space once more.

"Your praying skills have not improved," Cas said with a fond smile.

"Hey, Cas," Dean greeted his friend warmly. "I uh, I just wanted to talk; sorry to bother you. If you're busy…"

"No, I don't mind at all." In fact, Cas had been inwardly hoping for a prayer from Dean for six months and had yet to receive one. He missed his friend dearly. "What did you want to talk about?"

Dean winced slightly at being put on the spot. He took another sip of his beer and stalled. "How've you been? You didn't really stay to chat last time."

"I had urgent business to take care of and didn't want the other angels to know I was bringing Melanie Pearce here."

"Laney," Dean corrected absently. "She doesn't really like being called Melanie."

"Very well. I will admit, I am surprised you came back here," Cas commented, letting his eyes wander around the garage.

"Why's that?"

"I thought you would want to be with Laney."

Dean's eyes widened at the bluntness of the comment. "I have other obligations," he said a touch defensively, knowing also that any further explanation would likely fly right by the angel and he wouldn't be able to make him understand.

Cas tilted his head and gave him a curious look. "But are you not in love with Laney?"

"Get out of my head, Cas!" Dean hissed, squirming in discomfort. "And what would you know about love anyway?"

Cas shrugged his shoulders under the tan trench coat but took no offense at Dean's remark. "It is one of mankind's most curious and baffling mysteries," he said gravely, turning towards his former charge and fixing him with that unnerving look that made Dean feel like the angel was seeing things deep inside him, things he'd rather not let anybody see, even Cas.

"Ahh," Cas said with a nod of understanding. "Much like you did not think you deserved to be saved from hell, you do not think you deserve to be truly happy."

"I said stay out of my head."

"I don't need to go 'in your head' to know you lay unwarranted blame upon yourself for things completely out of your control."

Dean ignored the accusation, not sure which round of self-blame the angel had picked up on. "It's not about me," he said quietly. "When I first met Laney, I was only a kid but…I felt like I was supposed to save her. I can't explain why, call it fate or destiny or whatever but … but I didn't do that. I didn't help her at all. I never do. In fact, every time I show up in her life, something goes really wrong for her, like _**really**_ wrong. I'm like a freaking super-powered bad luck magnet. She's better off without me around, trust me, Cas."

He surprised himself at the admission and found himself wondering if this was the real reason he had come back to Indiana. Had he come back _**to**_ Lisa or just to get away _**from**_ Laney? To deny himself what he figured he didn't deserve? Was Laney the piece of him that was still missing, the piece he had assumed was Sam?

"Did it ever occur to you that these terrible things you speak of would have happened to her anyway?" Cas questioned him, his voice deep and husky and every bit as comforting as Dean always remembered it. "That they are out of your control and most definitely not your fault? And that _**fate**_," he stressed the word, "if that's what you want to call it, just steps in to make sure you are there to help her through these times?" His blue eyes held Dean's gaze, driving his point home. "To make sure she is not alone when she needs you the most?"

Dean remained silent, unsure of what to say. Never in a million years would he have thought of it that way but Cas made it seem so plausible.

"I admit," Cas continued, "I do not fully understand the complexity of human love, but I don't see how two people can be better off denying themselves such a gift." The angel remembered Dean's disgust at finding out John and Mary Winchester had been marked and decided against revealing the existence of such sigils on both he and Laney Pearce. He didn't understand the hunter's indignation towards the Cupid's work. The feelings didn't happen because the mark was there; the mark was placed there _**because** _the love was there - or would be if the two souls were ever given the chance. The mark was simply the angels' way of ensuring petty human obstacles and circumstances did not stand in the way of a fated match. Most humans did not fight the attraction as strongly as Dean and Laney appeared to have done; most humans _**wanted** _what was being offered.

Dean was about to reply when the garage door swung open and Lisa appeared, looking startled to see Cas there.

"Oh," she said quickly, giving Dean a wary look. "I thought I heard voices; I thought you must have been talking to Ben."

Dean cleared his throat and swung his legs off the side of the hood. "Lis, you remember Cas?"

"Of course," she smiled a little stiffly at the angel. "You're not bringing any more demon-dog fugitives into my house, are you?"

"No," Cas said politely. "I was merely talking with a friend." He gave Dean a solemn nod. "Maybe someday you can help me in kind when I am in need of some advice." The angel valued Dean's friendship and insight more than any other and was strongly tempted to ask the man he trusted what to do about Crowley and his offer of souls, Purgatory, and Cas's only chance to defeat Raphael. He refrained, however, deciding instead to respect that Dean had chosen to once again remove himself from the fight, that he had chosen peace over freedom.

Dean gave him a questioning look as he slipped off the Impala's hood. "Of course, Cas," he said sincerely. "Anytime."

In a blink Cas was gone, leaving Dean standing in the garage alone with Lisa. His girlfriend's gaze drifted towards the uncovered Impala and he didn't miss the slight tightening of her lips.

"I was just checking her fluids," Dean said quickly, reaching for the edge of the tarp to pull it back over the classic beauty.

"Dean, you don't have to explain," she said, reaching out to stop his hand from re-covering his hunting car. She let out a tired sigh and took a step backwards. "But we need to talk."

"Uh-oh," Dean tried to joke despite the ominous sound of her words.

"I think you should move out."

"What?" Dean's heart hammered in his chest. "But…"

"This isn't working anymore," she said bluntly. "You need to go. You don't want to be here."

"I do," Dean insisted automatically, not realizing until he actually spoke the words that they weren't the truth.

"I knew this was going to happen eventually," she continued. "Even if Sam hadn't come back, it was going to happen. And I knew the second I came downstairs and saw an angel holding an unconscious girl in my living room that that time had come." There was no malice or anger in her voice, just resignation. "And let's face it, you haven't been here a hundred percent since you came back from Bobby's." She nodded her head towards the uncovered Impala. "Your old life is calling you back, Dean."

Dean exhaled slowly, not sure if it was hurt or relief he was feeling upon hearing her words or something else entirely. He knew what she was saying was the truth. "I just have to help them. I have to try," he said finally. "If Sam got out, then Adam…"

"I understand that, Dean. You think I've spent the last six months with you and don't understand that? I knew this was temporary."

"Lis, don't say that." He stepped forward quickly and placed his hands on her cheeks, pulling her face up towards his own. "You're not temporary."

"It's okay, really," she told him, her voice wavering ever so slightly. "It's not your fault. It's who you are. You're a hunter. We both know you're not a construction worker." She withdrew and moved back to arm's length. "You were grieving and broken and such a wreck after Sam died but I knew it was just a matter of time before you pulled yourself together enough to figure out this isn't the life for you. That I'm not the one for you. I wish I was but I'm not. I can't be."

"God, Lis, you've been the best thing that has ever happened to me," he told her sincerely.

"But I'm not the one," she repeated. "There's a difference. The one for you is someone who risks her life over and over to save her brother, like you did for Sam. I would bury my sister and move on. The one for you is someone that an angel would interfere to save her life. Someone who jumps in front of an invisible hellhound to protect a complete stranger and her son." She let out a long sigh as she looked into his eyes. "Someone who knows monsters are real and doesn't choose to pretend they're not."

Dean knew exactly what she was saying, who she was talking about, and knew he was admitting it was all true by not denying it. He also knew part of her was still hoping he would argue with her, fight for her, insist this is the life he wanted and he felt terrible as he watched that last trace of hope leave her eyes when he remained silent.

If Sam could get out, then so could Adam and he couldn't just leave his brother in there. Half or full brother, whether he knew him or not, Adam was still his family.

On top of that, Laney needed Adam. She was in the same sorry, broken state he had been in when he had shown up here and Dean felt like he had to be the one to help her because she didn't have her own version of Lisa, someone patient and understanding and tolerant who could help slowly put the pieces back together until she could stand on her own. Seeing her again had ignited that lifelong compulsion Dean had felt to save her, to see her happy.

He was still in this fight, damnit. Dean Winchester wasn't out of the game just yet. He wasn't done saving people. He felt equal measures of invigoration and trepidation flowing through him at his epiphany.

He looked back at Lisa, his heart twisting with intense guilt. "Lis," he breathed. "I didn't mean for…"

She raised her hand to stop him from talking. "I'm glad you showed up, Dean. I am. You've been so good with Ben these past months and honestly, I've never been happier. It was all worth it but we both know Ben and I can't be a part of your other life. And that other life _**is**_ your life. You can't hide out in mine anymore."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry." He pulled her back towards her, leaning in and giving her a long, deep kiss. When he finally pulled away, he saw she was crying and he brushed a tear away with his thumb. "I'm sorry," he repeated, resting his forehead against hers.

She managed a sad smile. "Don't be. I'm not. I don't regret a minute of it."

"Me neither," he agreed, forcing himself to take a step away from her before he changed his mind. "Do you want me to tell Ben?"

She shook her head. "Let's both tell him."

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

Laney pulled back into Singer Salvage Yard to find Bobby's Chevelle gone but the black Charger parked right in front of the house. She groaned, not looking forward to alone time with the cold-hearted creep that used to be Sam. Ever since they had discovered the absence of his soul, Sam had dropped his human act, openly admitting he didn't care about any of them and hunted just because it was '_what he did_'. She could see the pain in Bobby's kind eyes every time he looked at the man he thought of as his son.

She came inside to find him mixing some pungent liquid in an intricately carved ivory bowl. "You get the figurine?"' he greeted her.

She tossed him a burlap wrapped object. "One eye-bleeding Virgin Mary, as ordered." Glancing into the study, she noticed symbols drawn on papers all over the walls and enough burning candles to rival the lights of the Strip at Vegas.

"Got a romantic date, Dexter?" she said, though her voice lacked any humor. Since he had murdered her father, she had gone out of her way to avoid Sam but for the past week, she and Bobby had been working closely with him on a plan to get his missing piece and Adam out of the cage. He didn't seem particularly enthusiastic about getting his soul or his conscience back, but a small, guilty part of her was almost glad it was still down there because now Bobby had thrown all his efforts into getting it back and the experienced hunter was a walking encyclopedia of the supernatural. Laney's desperate and reckless behaviour the past months had been rewarded with a lot of information and half-cocked plans on how to get Adam out but it wasn't until the three had combined her ideas with Bobby's wealth of knowledge and sharp mind as well as the information Sam had picked up in his five-years downstairs (for apparently Lucifer liked the sound of his own voice and was quite the talker) that they had figured out a plausible plan.

It again involved Kharon hounds and slipping the younger Winchesters' souls out the back door to the cage she had discovered, but Bobby's version of her previous plan was far more thought out and cautious.

"Bobby's stuck in Canning," Sam told her, ignoring the jibe. "He says we should go ahead and do the first part without him or we'll miss the full moon."

Laney's heart skipped a beat. "Really?" she questioned, not liking the thought of only having Sam to back her up. Bobby had torn her a new one about the dangerous tattoos she had acquired last month but they turned out to be quite useful because they made the spell untraceable as long as she performed it.

Sam shrugged. "It's a pretty simple spell," he said. "Unless you want to wait another month."

"No, no. Let's do it now. Another month is ten more years for Adam, remember?"

"Not something I would likely forget," Sam mumbled and Laney actually regretted the comment.

"Sorry." She went into the study. Sam had certainly been busy because everything was ready. The symbols, the altar, the candle arrangement, the mixture in the bowl he was placing on the floor. She noted the small animal cage on the floor and swallowed, refraining from looking inside. _The sacrifice._ She'd let Sam take care of that part. Cute little bunny rabbits had no effect on him.

"Okay, we need to run this all by Dean then," she said, taking off her coat.

Sam waved his hand in the air. "Just talked to him. He's not real thrilled but he says if we think it's a good plan and if it'll save Adam, we should go for it."

"Really?" The brunette raised a sceptical eyebrow. She had expected some argument from Dean, especially since he didn't even know Sam's soul was still at stake also.

Sam nodded. "He says he wants you to be careful."

"Okay, let's do this then," she agreed, sitting down on the couch by the window that Bobby generally used as a bed. The altar was on the coffee table a few feet away and she silently wished again that Bobby was here also. Summoning another pair of Kharon hounds wasn't high on her list of favorite-things-to-do and she would rather someone she trusted was here to have her back if things went south.

"You know, I don't get it," Sam ventured, placing the still-bleeding figurine she had just acquired in its place on top of the altar. "Dean's not your boss. Why do you let him dictate what you can and can't do?"

"You wouldn't have to ask that if you had your soul."

"No seriously." Sam sat down on the nearby chair and leaned back. "You do know he's banging Lisa every night, right?"

Laney shot him a heated glare. "I swear, if we don't get your soul back soon I'm going to shoot you myself." She held her hand out. "You got the spell?"

He shrugged and handed her a piece of paper with Assyrian words neatly written on one side. She took it and neither of them bothered with any words of encouragement or inspiration before she started reading them out loud. Sam moved towards the animal cage and Laney turned quickly away, keeping her eyes locked on the paper in her hands even when she heard a sharp squeal. She felt the heat beside her of Sam setting fire to the contents of the ivory bowl and sped up her reading to suit.

As she recited the last words on the page, she felt a sudden tightening in her chest which quickly turned into a sharp pain and then unbearable agony. _Crap, this wasn't supposed to happen. Something was wrong._ She dropped the paper and fell back onto the couch, gasping and writhing for a few seconds, clutching at her chest and struggling to breathe. "Sam!" she rasped, trying to focus on him, her eyes pleading for help. The last thing she could make out was him sitting back in the armchair watching her with what she could only describe as indifference before her vision blurred completely and she gave in to the darkness pulling at her.

She finally fell still, her blue eyes open and unblinking and staring blankly at the ceiling, with one arm and one leg hanging limply of the side of the couch. Only then did Sam rise to his feet and step towards her, calmly passing his hand back and forth over her face. Getting no reaction, his lips broke out into a satisfied smirk. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a new sheet of handwritten Assyrian text, placing it in her hand before scooping up the one she had been reading from and stuffing it in his jacket pocket. He made his way around the room, taking down a few of the symbols they had pinned on the walls and replacing them with different ones.

He moved back over to beside the couch and stood with his hands on his hips for a moment, looking around the room and at the motionless girl on the couch before pulling out his cell. There were a few seconds of calm silence before he spoke into the phone in a hurried, panicked voice.

"Bobby! Something's wrong. I think Laney tried the spell by herself!" A short pause. "No, I came in and she's just lying here...Yeah, dead rabbit, bleeding figurine, the whole bit….No, I won't touch anything….Just hurry Bobby!"

He hung up the phone, walked through into the kitchen, grabbed a beer, and came back in only to sink into the nearby armchair, putting his feet up on the coffee table with a sigh. "One down, one to go."

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

Bobby dashed into the house a half hour later, giving Sam a wary glare before heading over to the couch to check Laney's pulse. "She's still alive," he announced, his relief evident. "What happened? Why in the hell wouldn't she wait for me? She knew I'd be back by suppertime." His questions were aimed at Sam but his attention was focused on the various elements of the spell around the room. He moved around, studying the painted sigils hanging up on the walls to try and see where the spell had gone wrong.

Sam just shrugged. "When does Laney ever use common sense?"

Bobby glowered at him. "Wouldn't kill you to at least pretend to be concerned," he spat.

"I am," Sam argued unconvincingly. "It's not like I _**wanted**_ her dead."

"She ain't dead!" Bobby hissed, gently pulling the paper from her hand and reading the text.

"Looks to me like that's just a matter of time."

"Damnit, what went wrong?" Bobby murmured, more to himself than to the tall hunter standing next to him with his arms folded across his chest.

"I think we can all agree this soul-searching thing's getting a little too dangerous," Sam said solemnly. "I think we oughta back off it for a while."

"We got more immediate problems, Sam," Bobby growled, shaking his head at how unlike the real Sam this soulless version was. How had the kid fooled him for the past five and a half months? Admittedly, Sam hadn't spent much time at the salvage yard, instead just stopping in now and then to get some information or a trinket or two, but still... Bobby picked up the ivory carved bowl and sniffed the contents, pulling it sharply away from his face and wrinkling his nose. "What the hell?"

He jerked his head around to narrow his eyes at Sam. "There's roseweed in this!" He scowled and looked back at Laney. "I specifically told her meadowsweet. No way she'd screw that up..."

He spun back around sharply just in time to avoid the tall hunter's fist from slamming into his face. He countered immediately, swinging the heavy ivory bowl and smacking it into the side of Sam's head with a crack, sending the rank-smelling liquid contents flying and the soulless robot down to one knee. Knowing better than to try and take on the younger, faster, and bigger man in an even fight, Bobby turned and fled the room, heading down the hallway.

Sam recovered quickly and sprang after him. "Bobby?" he called almost tauntingly as he advanced down the hallway. "You know you can't take me out, Bobby."

Sam passed the open door to the basement, the location of the panic room where Bobby usually kept a lot of his serious firepower. He snorted and started down the stairs. "You gonna shoot me, Bobby? You know you won't be able to do it. I'm still Sammy."

Bobby darted out of the closet in the hall and slammed the basement door shut, locking it from the outside. "Not 'till you get that soul back, you're not," he growled. "You did that to Laney, didn't you?" he demanded through the door. "You were gonna try kill me too?"

Sam banged loudly on the reinforced metal door, which didn't budge. "I had to stop her, Bobby," he defended. "I don't want my soul back. You heard what Cas said but she just wouldn't give up." There was a pause during which Bobby closed his eyes and leaned against the wall next to the door. "I didn't want to kill you, Bobby," Sam continued, actually managing to sound sincere. "You're a handy guy for a hunter to have around. I was hoping you'd see that the spell hadn't worked and just agree to drop the soul-searching thing. But then you figured out I'd switched the potions so...I had no choice."

"D'you think your brother would've let you get away with this? Or were you planning on killing him too?"

"No need," was Sam's rational reply. "He doesn't know I'm running soul-free here. He'll just think Laney went off the rails and took you down with her. I'm not a total monster, you know. "

Bobby chose to ignore that comment. "We're trying to help you, Sam. When we get you back, you'll see that."

"Well I'm fine the way I am. Why can't you all just leave me alone?"

"Coz we love you, y'idjit!" He swallowed past the lump in his throat, concentrating on turning the hurt into determination. "What did you do to Laney?" he demanded finally. "How did you rig the spell?"

"If I tell you will you let me out of here?"

"No frigging way! You're staying there 'till I get that soul of yours stuffed back in ya even if I have to cram it up your lying ass with my boot!" He struggled to reign in his temper. "Tell me somethin', why'd you go to all this trouble? Why not just shoot her?"

"Couldn't have her upstairs talking to Cas," was Sam's cryptic reply.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bobby got no response and despite repeated attempts to reinitiate conversation, Sam remained silent. He needed to find out what kind of spell Laney had performed and what was wrong with her. Her heart had been beating but her eyes were completely vacant and her breathing had been faint. It was going to be a lot tougher figuring it out without Sam's help.

"Bobby!" he heard a sudden familiar but panicked voice shouting from the study. "Bobby!"

He rushed back up the hallway to find Dean standing wild-eyed in the room, staring in turn at Laney, the dead rabbit, the symbols on the walls, then back at Laney. "What the hell's going on?"

"What are you doing here, Dean?" he grumbled, immediately going back to studying the symbols to see what Sam could have done.

"I left Lisa," the younger man blurted. "I came back but..." he looked back down at Laney. "What the hell did I come back to, Bobby? She's completely unresponsive. And what's all this crap?" He waved his hand around the room. "What's going on?"

Bobby sighed and broke the news. "Seems Sam left a piece of himself down in the pit. His soul. He made it out, but his soul didn't."

Dean remained quiet as he took in the new, disturbing information. "Okay," he said, his voice hard. "So what does that mean? And where is he? And what's going on here?"

"It means he's gone all Mr. Hyde on us. Got no conscience; he's cold and unfeeling and really damn creepy," Bobby elaborated. "And he's locked downstairs in the basement right now because he did this." He pointed to Laney. "Turns out he doesn't want his soul back. After six months, or sixty years, of being Lucifer's bitch, he figures he'd rather stay emo-free than have to deal with it all. We had planned a spell to find a back door to the cage but he musta rigged it so something's gone wrong and..."

"And what?" Dean demanded. "Is she ... gone?"

Bobby spotted a folded piece of paper on the floor that was covered in the foul liquid and stooped to pick it up. His lips moved silently as he read the words on the page and he closed his eyes with realization. "Balls," he growled.

"What is it?"

"This musta fallen outta Sam's pocket when I hit him. I'm guessing he let her read this spell then switched them out."

Dean swallowed. "What is that spell?"

"A damn Devil's Gate is what it is."

"What?" Dean's heart dropped right out of his chest. He had expected to ease himself back into hunting but to arrive at Bobby's right in the middle of a shitstorm wasn't quite what he had in mind. His apparently evil, soulless brother had tricked Laney into opening a Devil's Gate, a gate TO HELL, and ... oh Jesus ... and _**what**_? He shot Bobby a panicked, questioning look.

Bobby nodded. "Yup," he said, confirming Dean's worst fears. "My guess is she's been sent through the gate. That's what he meant by not wanting her upstairs talking to Cas. He sent her downstairs."

"Are you telling me she's _**in hell**_?" Dean was aware his voice was shaking but couldn't help it. He struggled to keep from losing it all together as he realized it was happening again. "Oh God, Bobby. No, no. I can't do this again. First Dad, then me, then Sam and Adam, now Laney? And don't forget you're next when your time's up!" He was shouting now and practically waving his arms in the air. "Why do we all end up going to hell? None of us deserve to go to hell, Bobby! Why does this keep happening?"

Bobby raised his hand to calm Dean down. "You done?" he asked. "Coz her body's still breathing. She's just got one foot in the pit but the other's still here so if you quit your melodrama, we can maybe get her out."

"How?"

"I don't have the faintest but..."

"Damnit Bobby!"

"Hey! _**You**_ got out, your **_daddy_ **got out, _**I**_ ain't there yet, and right now we got an open door to work with for Laney so don't give up yet. Keep it together, son." He used his best John Winchester tone on the last line.

Dean immediately stilled and Bobby could see the hunter pulling himself together at the commanding voice.

Dean wiped his hand down across his clean-shaven chin and tried to collect his thoughts and quell the panic. _Welcome back to his freaking messed up life._ "Alright," he said calmly. "We got Sam locked down. We got a hell-door still open." His eyes lit up. "And we got friends in high places." He turned his head upwards. "Cas! Cas, goddamnit, get your ass down here!" he bellowed. "Please," he added as an afterthought.

"I can hear you just as easily when you speak quietly," Cas's husky voice spoke from the corner of the room behind Dean. "And the use of profanity is not necessary."

The two men spun towards him to find him looking rather disapprovingly at the markings on the walls. "What's going on here?" he asked.

"Sam's soul didn't make it out of the pit," Dean blurted.

"I am aware of that," came the solemn reply.

"Hmph." Dean had spoken to the angel ten hours ago in Lisa's garage and Cas had neglected to mention that minor detail. Oh well, _another argument for another day. _"He tricked Laney into opening a Devil's Gate and from what we can tell, she's been sent through it."

Cas frowned, glancing at the unconscious girl on the couch behind Dean. "That is unfortunate." He looked up at Dean. "I am sorry. I know how much you cared for her."

"Well I'm not counting her out just yet," Dean snapped. "I need to know if there's a way to get her back out this devil's gate before we close it up. You got me out of Hell; can you get her out?"

Cas frowned. "I'm afraid I had the help of a thousand other angels to get you out," he told the pair. "If I was to step into hell now, the demons would know I was there within seconds and I would be killed within minutes. I am not powerful enough to defeat an entire host of demons."

"Well someone got Sam's body out," Dean shifted his focus. "So I guess I'm gonna summon Crowley and find out who."

Cas sighed. "_**I**_ brought Sam back," he admitted bluntly. Dean and Bobby both jerked their heads up to stare at him wide-eyed. The angel shrugged and continued. "I brought his body back to life but I didn't realize his soul wasn't in it until last week. I'm sorry. I guess I….I screwed up." He cocked his a little as he spoke, unsure if his terminology was correct, but his expression was genuinely apologetic as he stared directly at Dean. "I just wanted you to have your brother back, to find the peace you were seeking."

Dean closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "It's okay," he told his friend with no trace of anger. "You didn't know. But if you can't go down there and get Laney out, then I'm going."

"HELL NO!" yelled Bobby, grabbing Dean's forearm so tightly the younger man winced.

"The door's still open, Bobby," Dean argued, pulling his arm free. "She's _**right there**_. I'm not closing that door on her and we can't leave it open much longer or demons'll start popping out of it."

"You can't just hop in there and pull someone out, Dean!" Bobby shouted back, the fear evident in his voice. "It doesn't work that way!"

"Actually..." Cas interjected, silencing both Bobby's continued argument and Dean's rebuttal. "It might."

"There'll be demons all over her!" Bobby spat, turning his vehemence on the angel.

"Not necessarily. As long as her earthbound body keeps breathing, the wards she has in place will hold. She's hidden from most demons," Cas said calmly. "She may be able to elude them. Even my angels had a hard time tracking her."

"The tattoos!" Dean exclaimed, feeling his first bit of hope.

"Then how's Dean supposed to find her?" Bobby demanded. "Hell's a big place."

Dean had no doubts the older hunter cared about Laney but he knew Bobby would give up on anyone and everyone rather than see Dean go back to hell. After spending just six months with Ben, he could understand how this was a father's absolute worst nightmare come true but as much as he regretted having to put the old guy through this again, he just couldn't leave Laney down there. This time he was going to save her.

Cas directed his reply towards Dean. "You'll be able to find her the same way you found Sam in Heaven," he explained. "You and Laney are ... you share a deep bond. That bond carries into both Heaven and Hell."

Dean wasn't particularly surprised at Cas's last words and believed them without doubt. He couldn't explain why but Laney had always been special to him, far more than his limited time with her would logically have warranted. Call it a 'bond' or a 'connection' or whatever; it was there. Similar to what he felt with Sam and, in a strange way, similar to what he sometimes felt with Cas. He would find her.

"And time and space don't exactly behave down there," Bobby continued, not giving up. "I've had a few chats with Crowley over the past few months," he explained with a shrug when he caught the raised eyebrows aimed at him. "Smug bastard's still got my contract, remember?" He grabbed Dean's arm again. "At least let me do it," he practically begged. "My train's headed that way anyway."

Dean shook his way free. "No way. I spent four decades down there, Bobby. I know how things work. I'm her best chance."

"What's to stop the demons from finding you as soon as you show up?" Bobby countered.

Cas stepped forward and pressed his hand against Dean's chest. The hunter felt a sharp pain shoot through him and looked up at Cas with a disgruntled, questioning look.

"I have re-marked your ribs," the angel explained. "As long as we keep your body alive here, they will not sense you. The only way they will find you is if you physically run into them. I believe it will be the same for Laney."

"Then how's he supposed to get back out?" Bobby asked with resignation, his argument starting to lose wind.

"If he makes it back to the gate, I can bring them both back out."

"That's all I need to hear," Dean cut short the argument. "Bobby, make this happen." He stole a glance at Laney. "And do it fast."

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

Dean's eyes snapped open but it was a long few seconds before his heart followed suit and recovered from the gripping fear that had a hold of it. "_This is different_," he whispered to himself, fighting to stay calm as the reality of where he was hit him. "_This is different. Not like last time. They don't know I'm here. They don't know I'm here._"

He took stock of his surroundings, which looked exactly as he remembered. Bleak and frightening. Also familiar was the perpetual background noise of thousands of souls screaming for mercy in the distance and the pungent smell of burning human flesh. God, he _**really**_ hadn't missed this place. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _This time was different - he wasn't on the rack. He wasn't on Alistair's radar. He just had to find Laney and get back here so Cas could pull them out._

He tightened his grip on the blade in his hand, surprised but thankful that Cas had been correct that Ruby's knife would make it down here with him. Apparently being the only earthbound weapon known to have been forged down here made it transferable. Originating in Hell was also gave it its ability to kill a demon outright. Dean had cursed Ruby for the eight hundredth time upon hearing that news grumbling that that would have been nice to know before the hellhounds had come for him.

Not that it would have given him even a fighting chance. He had been here for all of two seconds before a hundred demons surrounded him, drooling in anticipation, and in the blink of an eye, he'd found himself suspended by meathooks tearing savagely into his flesh and ripping through his bone. He still remembered the unimaginable pain, his own voice screaming, the searing heat and…

He shook his head clear of the near-crippling memories. He needed to keep it together – _**Laney**_ needed him to keep it together. Cas had said he should be able to find her by just thinking of her and following his heart, whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. In Heaven, he had simply willed himself to find Sam and followed 'the road'. He brought a mental picture of the pretty brunette to mind and looked around.

To his right there was a river of thick, dark red blood, bubbling and gurgling over bones and hollowed out human skulls, symbolic remnants of souls that had since been turned. It flowed uphill and weaved its way behind a huge pile of bones a hundred yards away. Dean shrugged and headed in that direction. That was as close to a road as he was going to find down here.

As soon as he rounded the corner behind the bonepile, he heard Laney screaming. He fisted the hilt of Ruby's knife and ran forward, not even blinking as his surroundings morphed around him. He was in one of the torture chambers now, a large one but thankfully not a busy one. He'd seen a thousand of these during his tour, experiencing such places from both sides of the rack. Two demons were laughing maliciously as they rammed various sharp instruments through a coffin-sized box standing on its end in the middle of the room. Blood was trickling out of the holes they left as their weapons were repeatedly withdrawn.

The hunter didn't hesitate, taking immediate advantage of his element of surprise. He walked right up to the demons, who looked like hollowed-out, ghastly versions of their former human forms, and rammed the knife into the neck of the closest one. It screamed and collapsed quickly and Dean faced off against the second.

"What the…wait …you're Dean Winchester!" The demon began backing nervously away from Dean. "What are you doing back here? I hadn't heard… Wait, wait…" He held his hands in the air. "I didn't know she was yours! We just found her wandering around! You can have her … we were just getting her warmed up for you."

Dean didn't bother with any smart ass retort or explanation; he simply lunged and stabbed the demon in the gut, dropping him to the ground next to his low-level accomplice and hating that the pair of demons had been so afraid of him – of what he had been the last time he was here.

He pushed those thoughts aside and stepped up to the wooden box. He could hear Laney inside, gasping and crying and his nostrils were assaulted with the ripe smell of her blood flowing freely out of the holes. Given a few second reprieve from the agony of the repeated stab wounds, she began pounding on the inside walls and screaming for help. Dean called to her but she clearly wasn't in any state to hear him for she kept banging and pleading to get out.

He picked up one of the heavier swords the demons had been using and started striking the lock with the hilt, desperate to put a stop to the sheer terror he could hear in her voice. She was pleading for her father to let her out and it tore at Dean's insides to realize she was reliving a much, much worse version of her memories as a child of being locked in the closet, her phobia of small places inducing an all-out panic.

The first things the demons pick up on when a soul reaches hell are its most obvious fears. Dean was afraid of flying and not having solid footing on the ground so his first round of torture had been unimaginable physical pain while suspended over a bottomless chasm of searing heat and nothingness. It had soon expanded to include sharp instruments and fire but it had been a few of months before the demons had started the mindgames and brought Sam into the equation. It made sense, therefore, that they had picked up on Laney's claustrophobia and run with that first, the intention being to induce panic and terror on top of the pain. It was what Dean would have done.

Laney kept screaming, oblivious to Dean's presence. "Please help me! Let me out! Daddy!"

He finally got the lock off and hauled at the chains until he could muscle the door open. Laney practically fell out into his arms, still shuddering and crying almost hysterically, blood everywhere. Dean couldn't fault her; he too had been reduced to a whimpering wreck after a few hours down here, panic and pain wiping out any sense of coherency or awareness. It had taken him a few days of constant torture before he had managed to steel himself and clear his head enough to remember where he was and be able to regain any sense of composure.

His favorite thing during his last decade down here had been the first few days with a new soul on his rack. Getting to them before they had adjusted to the alternate reality of hell – the reality in which pain that excruciating and wounds that severe were not fatal. In which nothing was fatal, in fact, because it wasn't a person's real body being tortured but their soul and souls don't die. They just hurt and suffer until they turn into something dark and twisted and evil. It had been his greatest source of enjoyment to tear into newbie flesh when that kind of pain was still unimaginable to them and while the screams were fresh and the pleas still held some hope for mercy.

Looking at such a soul right now, collapsed in his arms and frantically trying to hold the gaping wounds on her torso closed, tore at Dean worse than Alistair's knife ever had.

"Laney, you're safe," he repeated over and over, holding her tightly and trying to snap her out of her fear. "It's me, Dean. I've got you. You're safe. It's me, Dean."

Finally she stopped struggling, one fist wrapping tightly in his shirt but the other clutching her stomach. "Dean?" she choked.

"Yeah, Lane, it's me. You're safe now. It's over."

"Guh," she made chortling sound. "No. They got me... I…they stabbed…bad..." Her words were breathless but at least she was calming down.

"No," he told her quickly, cupping her face and forcibly tilting it towards his. "No, Lane, listen to me. It's not real."

She shook her head and moaned in pain, trying to pull away. "They stabbed me."

"Laney!" Dean's voice this time was stern and he grabbed her wrists, pulling them away from her shredded, blood-soaked top. "It's not real. Once the pain stops, the wounds go away. It's not real. It's over. You're fine now."

He saw confusion on her face as she looked down at her torso again, this time pressing gently at her side with her fingers, exploring. "I'm not…?" she trailed off, her breathing slowing.

"No," he assured her. "This isn't your real body. Things are different down here, okay? It took me a long time to learn this, Laney. I know you felt the pain but when it stops, you can heal. It's stopped. Let it stop. Let it be over."

Thankfully, he could see his words registering and knew for certain she had understood him when the blood disappeared from her shirt and jeans. Dean had always hated the short reprieve the demons had given him at the end of each day, those few minutes during which his body had healed and the pain had stopped for just long enough for him to remember what it was like to _**not**_ hurt before the next round started all over again.

But for Laney, there wouldn't be a next round. Now that she understood she wasn't torn to shreds, her wounds had disappeared and Dean wasn't about to let the demons touch her again.

Before he could say anything else, her arms were around his neck and she was hugging him tightly. He returned the embrace, closing his eyes and enjoying the feel of her breath on his neck, of her warmth pressed against him, both close and safe. There was something so right about holding her but something so wrong about feeling this way while _**in hell**_.

He pulled away quickly. "Come on," he said, tugging at her arm. "We gotta go."

"Where?" Laney asked, falling in behind him and suddenly impressively composed . "Where are we? Is this Hell?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah and Cas is waiting to take up back topside."

"How'd you get here?" she asked. "Are you even real? How'd _**I**_ get here? Am I dead? Are _**we**_ dead?"

A short laugh escaped the hunter at the number of questions and the absurdity of the whole situation. "No, we're alive but not for long if we don't find Cas. I'm as real as you are though we're not really here; our souls are. Sam screwed with the spell and sent you here."

"That bastard!" she spat. "I'm gonna wring his neck. We need to get his damn soul back. Wait…" she stammered, stumbling in her footing and tugging him to a stop. "Are you saying you came down here to save me? To _**hell**_?"

Dean turned to look at her and a sudden feeling swept over him, a feeling hard to define. Redemption? Validation? Self-worth? He was really saving her this time. She loved him and for once he was coming through for her. A smirk spread across his face as he tugged her hand to keep going. "Of course."

She let him drag her forward again and they ran for a hundred yards before the landscape suddenly morphed around them again into the bleak rocky-flatland scene Dean had been greeted with upon his arrival. "Where are we going?" she asked when he stopped again.

The hunter was standing facing her, still holding her hand but staring at her with a look of surprised realization on his face.

"_**You're** _going back upstairs," he said as Cas suddenly appeared next to them, surrounded by a dark shadow that looked like the entrance to a wormhole from a science fiction movie. Dean turned to the angel. "Get her out of here," he ordered, pushing Laney gently towards the serious-looking figure in the trench coat. "I'm going for Sam and Adam."

**~x~x~x~x~x~ **

_**A/N:** Hope I didn't upset any Lisa fans but Dean just couldn't stay on the sidelines any longer :-) And I am enjoying writing Soulless Sam; he's all kinds of fun! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will try to have the last one up as soon as I can. Thanks to everyone whose still reading this and I hope I don't disappoint. Please review and let me know what you thought._


	11. PART 5 Chapter 11

_**A/N:** Well this is it folks - the grand finale! :D To quote the well-coiffed and eternally hot Jared Padalecki: "Hope ya'll like it!" _

_Since the show never really got into too much detail, I've taken quite a few liberties in my description of Hell. This is just how I pictured it and I hope you like my spin on it. (Crowley's never-ending line-up version just wouldn't have worked for this story - it would have made for an extremely boring rescue attempt - lol!)_

_Previously__: After a conversation with Cas, Dean (and Lisa) realize he isn't cut out for suburbia and he leaves Lisa only to arrive at Bobby's to find that Sam tampered with a spell to send Laney to Hell so she would stop trying to get his soul back. Sam had then attacked Bobby but Bobby managed to lock him in the basement. Dean uses the same spell to go into hell after Laney but when Cas is about to pull them both out, he tells Laney and Cas that he's going after Sam and Adam too._

~x~x~x~x~x~

**CHAPTER 11**

Bobby had watched as Dean finished reading the spell and simply grunted in pain before falling back on the fold-out couch next to Laney. A heavy silence fell over the room for a few drawn out seconds before he spun to narrow his eyes at the angel.

"Why would you let him to do that?" he spat angrily. "You practically encouraged him! You're supposed to be his friend!"

"Because he needs to," the angel answered solemnly.

"Bullcrap. He don't need to go back into hell! He's still trying to deal with the first time."

Cas sighed and let his gaze drop to the motionless face of his truest friend, green eyes staring vacantly back up at him. "I believe he is finally ready to rejoin the fight for freedom, Bobby, for free will and for humanity. But for Dean, his first priority will always be to save those he cares about."

Bobby glowered at him. "This ain't about your war," he growled. "This is about my boy not dyin'."

The angel didn't reply right away and they both stood in silence for a long moment, staring with hope and anticipation at Dean's still face. Cas finally glanced over at the older hunter with a furrowed brow. "Last year, fighting this war with Dean and you and Sam was unlike any other fight I have ever experienced," he told him quietly.

"How's that?"

"Angels are righteous beings. They will die for God and for Faith and for a cause without a moment's hesitation, yet it is a rare thing for an angel to willingly die merely for a friend or for the love of another. You and the Winchesters, my friends, you do that without thinking."

Bobby's eyes softened. "You did it too," he pointed out, the anger slipping from his voice.

"And I would do it again," Cas nodded. "I understand now why you do it. It was Dean who taught me that the _one_is just as important as the _many_." He pursed his lips a little and looked back at the unconscious pair on the couch. "You must know that Dean is in love with Laney," he explained. "It is in his nature to risk everything for those he loves."

His head suddenly jerked upright and his stare grew distant. "He's back," he said simply before flickering out of sight.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Laney grabbed Dean's forearm, her fingers bruising his flesh and her blue eyes wide and panicked. "No!" she gasped. "You can't stay here! We have a plan. Bobby and me have a plan; we'll get them out that way. Let's stick to the plan." She tugged him frantically towards Cas and the gate the angel was standing in. "We can use Kharon Hounds. There's a door in the cage...the hounds can get them out - not you!"

Cas pursed his lips but didn't say anything until Dean gave him a questioning look.

"Kharon Hounds cannot help," the angel admitted, looking to Laney. "Your plan will fail."

"But there's a door," she insisted. "A back door into the cage."

Cas nodded. "Yes, but neither angels nor demons can access it or pass through it. A Kharon Hound is a demon."

"Okay, tell me everything you know about this door, Cas," Dean demanded urgently.

"It is actually a crack in the wall," Cas explained. "One only a human soul can pass through. Left there by Michael when the cage was built so that Lucifer may release the vessel he had taken on the day he was first imprisoned. Michael had claimed it was an opportunity for his brother to show mercy but in truth it was a pointless gesture as Lucifer has never been merciful. There was never any doubt he would twist and torment that soul into one of his own demons so its freedom was never an option and over the millennia, the door was simply forgotten."

Dean growled and barely resisted the urge to throw his hands in the air. "Why am I just hearing about this now?" he demanded. "I could have tried to get Sam out months ago, Cas!"

"I only heard tell of it this week," the angel apologized.

"Okay, how do I find it?"

Cas shrugged. "If you find the cage and your soul is pure, you should be able to see it."

The hunter gave Cas a despondent look, thinking that last requirement was sure to rule him out. "What the hell is a 'pure' soul?"

"Yours is," his friend replied without hesitation. "A soul worthy of heaven."

Dean nodded, doubt still nagging but willing to chance it on Cas's word. "Okay then." He tugged his arm to free it from Laney's grip but she didn't let go.

"I'm coming with you," she said firmly.

"No you're not!" was Dean's instinctive and immediate response.

"Well I'm not leaving you!" she exclaimed, her eyes narrowing into what Dean was starting to recognize as her seriously stubborn look.

"Laney, I've been here before; I know how this place works." He began to pry her fingers off his forearm. "Besides, we only have one knife."

"I'm not letting you stay in Hell by yourself, Dean," she rasped. "I'm not leaving you down here. I'm not."

"Go with Cas," he practically growled at her. "I need you to get back to Bobby's."

"No," she repeated adamantly, grabbing his sleeve again. "If this doesn't work then you'll be..." Her voice hitched at even the thought of what would happen to Dean. "No…you're _not_ gonna be down here alone...no. Just...no."

He gripped her forearms just below the elbows and started pushing her firmly towards the gate. "Laney, Go with Cas," he said sternly, muscling her into the dark shadowy gate and right up against the angel, who thankfully had the sense to seize her arms from behind to restrain her. Dean's eyes locked on hers. "I've got one chance to save my brother. _One_ chance, but I would leave him down here in a heartbeat before I would risk you coming with me. Don't you understand? I'd leave him if it meant keeping you alive."

She stopped her struggling, her eyes fixing on his with a slightly stunned expression. Dean swallowed, realizing he had just put it right out there how much he cared; how much he was willing to give up for her. He loosened his tight grip and lowered his arms to take her hands in his.

"Do you remember that night we were kids," he added more gently, "Sammy was sleeping and you were lying next to me and I told you that I would take care of you?"

She nodded, tears starting to pool in her lower eyelids.

"Well I meant it," he told her. "I meant it and I didn't do it then but I _can_ to do that now. Please just let me do that, for once. I need you to be safe or I can't do this and Laney, and I _can_ do this. I can get Adam back for you. I can get them both back."

Cas cleared his throat from behind her. "Dean, I must leave now or the demons will sense me and our presence will be discovered."

As Dean acknowledged Cas's warning, Laney's fingers squeezed tightly around his on both hands. "Don't die," she whispered, her voice pleading with him, begging him. "Promise me you won't die."

The hunter managed to pull a slightly cocky grin from somewhere inside him. "Don't plan on it." He leaned down and planted a quick, almost chaste kiss on her lips before stepping back away from the gate and giving Cas a nod.

"Be careful, Dean," Cas said solemnly.

Dean spared his friend a smile of thanks. "Just be here when I get back," he said then Cas and Laney were gone, leaving him standing in the bleak, inhospitable plain alone.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Cas was only gone for a few seconds before reappearing in Bobby's study. Laney immediately gasped and sat up, small flashes of white light shooting out of her eyes and mouth, but Dean's unconscious form didn't budge. It took Bobby no more than a few seconds to figure this out and he demanded to know what had happened and what was going on, his voice laced with near panic.

Cas explained Dean's decision, expecting yet another angry outburst from the older hunter but instead Bobby slumped his shoulders and dropped down into the nearby armchair with a resigned sigh. "Well, you did just finish saying it's in his nature to risk his life for those he loves," he said with a defeated shrug. "That sure as shit includes Sam."

Three heads turned towards the motionless hunter sprawled on the couch next to Laney. The brunette remained silent and simply placed her hand tenderly on Dean's chest but Bobby fidgeted and grumbled in his chair, wishing he had a bottle of whiskey at hand and feeling utterly helpless. It looked like the Winchester brothers were in this one alone. Hopefully this time their never-ending supply of determination, love, and self-sacrifice would see a happy outcome to this madness. Bobby couldn't help but think that given their track record, that wasn't likely.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Dean didn't waste any time. As soon as Laney and Cas disappeared, he closed his eyes and thought of Sam. The image that came to mind was his eight-year-old brother looking up at him, grinning ear to ear with his long bangs flopping down over his hazel eyes. When the surroundings didn't change, he decided to follow the blood river back upstream and around the pile of bones again. After all, it had worked last time.

He rounded the corner to find the bleak, inhospitable landscape stretching as far as the eye could see and growled his disappointment.

He should have known this time wouldn't be as easy. As Bobby had pointed out, time and space worked differently down here so it wasn't like there was a set distance or direction between where he was now and Lucifer's cage. Instead this place was perception-driven and space could fold in on itself to allow a more direct passage from one location to another. Finding the cage was based on him making a connection with Sam, as he had with Laney, but with Sam in the deepest, darkest corner of Hell and no doubt in such agony he was practically out of his mind, it made sense that it would be more difficult to connect with him.

Dean concentrated harder, his thoughts drifting from young Sam to adult Sam, from innocent Sam to the blood-junkie that had become Ruby's puppet, from the angry teenager walking away for Stanford to the look of utter love Dean had been given just before Sam jumped into the pit. He kept pushing forward, trying his hardest to not let the stench and the constant din of screaming souls distract him. He noticed a few demons here and there and managed to give most of them a wide berth. Only two passed by close enough to notice he wasn't a demon and he made quick work of both of them with Ruby's knife.

After what seemed like hours of aimless wandering, he found it. Lucifer's cage.

_Not very aptly named,_ he thought as he laid eyes upon it for the first time. It wasn't a cage or a box or a prison at all, but rather a giant temple built of white stone, it's color and splendor in stark contrast to the sharp protrusions of coal black rock that composed the craggy hill on which it was perched. There were Enokian symbols etched into the walls of the impressive towers at each corner. Michael certainly hadn't been half-assed about things when he had it built. It was actually quite a breathtaking sight, or would be if it weren't for the hundred or so demons milling about on the plain at its base and the dull roar of a hundred murmured prayers. After all, this was their place of worship.

Dean had never been here. After climbing off the rack, he had never been given free reign in hell and was constantly kept under Alistair's close watch, even though he'd had no interest in anything beyond the soul on his rack. Dean had never given himself to Lucifer, to serving hell; he had only tortured for his own selfish reasons - a way to forget the previous thirty years of pain. His will had broken but his soul had never turned demon.

Of course, that also meant if he got any closer, the worshippers would see he wasn't a demon for his human form did not hold the hideous twisted visage just beneath the surface that demons did. _This was going to make getting to the temple difficult._

He looked around, not sure what to do, or even which side of the temple was the back, where this door was supposed to be. He tried to remember Cas's words. _'It is actually a crack in the wall'_ and _'If you find the cage and your soul is pure, you should be able to see it'_ Well, he didn't see any doors or cracks on the temple; just thick walls of solid rock. Maybe Cas was giving him too much credit - his soul was far from pure.

A couple of demons were headed his way, their trajectory taking them far too close for comfort. He sank to his knees with his head bowed in an attempt to blend in. It seemed to work and he exhaled in relief as the pair walked right past him. He stayed where he was with his head down for another couple of minutes, until he was sure they were a safe distance away. When he looked back up he gasped out loud at the sight before him.

There was a door, a plain, simple-looking wooden door with nothing around it just six feet in front of him. He shouldn't have been surprised he supposed; things worked differently down here – it was basically all about perception. He glanced anxiously around but none of the demons seemed to be reacting to its sudden appearance.

Swallowing nervously, he reached for the handle. It turned easily and he pushed the door open just a crack, wincing at the creaking sound and at the blackness he saw beyond.

_Here goes nothing._

Holding his breath, he stepped in through the doorframe. It was pitch black inside and the only light from the flames and the bleak plain behind him disappeared when the door swung shut behind him with a whish and a soft click.

_Damnit, he wished he had his Zippo._ Unfortunately, besides his clothes, Ruby's knife was the only thing that had made it down here with him. He clutched it tightly in his hand, even though he knew it would do no good against his enemies in here.

This is when it occurred to Dean he had no plan. Short of finding the cage, he had no idea how to get Sam and Adam out of it. It wasn't like he could kick the crap out of both Michael and Lucifer with his bare fists, as much as he would like to. He realized with a lurch that he had more than likely just given the duelling archangels a third toy to play with.

He moved on anyway, unable to see even two feet in front of him. Feeling his way with his hands and feet, he shuffled forward for a few minutes before seeing a light in the distance up ahead. He rounded a corner to find John Winchester sitting on an ornate chair in a well-lit room, his right ankle resting up on his left knee. Dean blinked a few times in the light, noting it was actually John Winchester in his early twenties, the one he had met in his two trips back to the seventies, and not the scowling man with the pained eyes Dean had known as his father.

"Hello Dean," John greeted him calmly, giving him an insincere smile.

Dean swallowed. "Michael."

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

"It's been over five minutes," Bobby fretted. "That's half a day hell-time. That's too long. I oughta go get 'em."

"Either you or I going down there would be futile," Cas pointed out. "We would not be able to find them and we wouldn't last two minutes."

"Well I can't just sit here with my thumb up my ass!" the older hunter barked back. He had taken to pacing back and forth across the study floor, his animated agitation a sharp contrast to the angel's still stance by the couch and Laney's silent vigil from where she sat with her hand in Dean's.

Cas didn't reply but he did nod his agreement with Bobby's level of worry. It _was_ taking a long time. He had expected it to take longer for Dean to find Sam than it had to find Laney because she was just inside the new, undiscovered gate, but the more Cas contemplated Dean's chances, the more he began to think he should not have let his friend stay down there. Better a broken, hollow Dean than none at all. It had been a selfish decision on his part and for that, he was now feeling guilty.

His musing was cut silent by the sound of an engine starting up and tires skidding in the driveway. All three of them jerked their heads up sharply.

"Sam!" Bobby hissed. "That's his car. Dang Houdini's got himself out of the basement!"

"We need his body if Dean retrieves his soul," Cas stated with a frown before disappearing in a blink from the room.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

"Well, I have to admit, I didn't expect to see you here," said Michael with an amused look on John's young face.

Dean shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, I'm just full of surprises."

Michael rose to his feet slowly. "That you are," he nodded, his smooth voice thick with arrogance. "What I'm wondering is _why_ are you here."

"Why do you think?" Dean snapped. "I'm here for my brothers."

Michael arched an eyebrow. "You know, I'd almost forgotten about that door," he said, taking a step towards the hunter. He stopped and shook his head slowly. "But it won't do you any good, Dean."

"Just tell me where Sam and Adam are."

"And why would I do that?"

"Coz they shouldn't be here!"

"Neither should I."

"That's a matter of opinion."

Michael 's lips tightened. "Do you have any idea what you and your brothers have done? I was destined to face my brother in battle. I was destined to defeat him. I was destined to bring Paradise back, to end the bickering and the uncertainty that has plagued us since our Father left. I was..."

"Oh, give me a break," Dean interrupted with a snort. "I don't give a crap what you think you were destined to do. You were gonna take out half the planet, _God's planet_, and we weren't gonna let you do that without putting up a fight. We got given free will and you know what? We used it. You would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed and us humans planned on destroying half of Heaven in some pointless pissing contest. So suck it up and stop whining."

Michael's eyes darkened and he gave Dean a long, hard stare. The hunter held his gaze but could feel his hands start to tremble and was inwardly cursing his big, brash mouth for its complete stupidity. His bravado was constantly getting him in trouble but this time, it may have just earned him an eternity of torture at the hands of an irate archangel.

"Just think of it this way," the hunter shrugged with a nervous smile, trying to lighten the mood. "Now you and Lucifer can go all UFC on each other until the end of time and not bother anyone. You get to kick his ass over and over again."

"There would be no point in fighting now," Michael ground out.

"Course there is," Dean argued. "He's still your punk ass little brother. And you'll still prove you can take him, fulfil your destiny and all that crap, even if there isn't anyone here to see it."

He got no reply.

"Okay, speaking of little brothers," Dean continued. "Where are mine? Coz I'm kinda on a tight schedule here."

Michael pursed his lips. "And why would you think I would let you or your brothers leave?" he said coldly.

"Because you made that door for a reason," Dean answered heatedly. "Because at some point, when you built this place, you had some compassion for humans and had thought Lucifer should show some mercy to his vessel. Because you're better than him and you know it's the righteous thing to do."

Michael actually laughed. It wasn't a warm laugh or a humorous laugh but it wasn't a malicious '_I'm going to smite you now_' laugh either. Dean's heart thumped loudly in his chest.

"Adam served me loyally," the angel said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "He can go. But I can guarantee you my brother will not show the same kindness to Sam."

Michael disappeared without another word but a door appeared just as quickly in the wall to Dean's right. The hunter turned towards it, debating whether to try it or go back the way he came into the darkness behind him.

Before he could decide, the door opened and Adam stepped through, looking exactly as he had the day Sam had pulled him into the hole in Stull Cemetery. His eyes went wide with shock when he saw Dean.

"What...?" He began to back away, his expression beyond scared. "Are you... no, no...where's Michael?" His eyes darted around the room. "He'll be back. You know he'll stop you!"

"Woah, Adam, it's me," Dean tried to calm him down. "Your brother Dean, remember?"

"Why are you... why would you pretend to be Dean?"

"Dude, who do you think I am?"

"You're Lucifer." The kid's voice went hoarse when he said the name and he was backing up but the door behind him was gone.

"No, I'm Dean. I swear, I'm really Dean. I found a door and there was this spell and Laney ... well, it's complicated but just trust me, I'm Dean. I'm not the Devil, dude."

Adam's expression changed from one of terror to one of confusion and within a few minutes, Dean had him convinced of the truth. He gave his half-brother the Cliff Notes version of what was going on and told him the plan was to find Sam and get back to Cas and the devil's gate. The elder Winchester's heart twisted in a knot when Adam explained that Lucifer rarely left Sam alone; that he didn't ever stop torturing him physically and mentally for more than a few minutes at a time.

He gave Dean a defeated look. "After what Sam did, Lucifer won't ever let him go."

Dean closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, hating the decision he was suddenly faced with. He could take Adam back topside right now. He realized his chances of saving Sam also were practically nil but if he left now, at least Adam stood a good chance of making it out alive. Laney could have Adam back. He would have a brother at least, if not Sam. He dared to even hope that he could have Laney. But if he stayed, all three Winchester boys would likely never make it out.

As if sensing Dean's dilemma, Adam spoke up. "I'm not leaving without Sam," he said simply. "So don't even think about trying to make me."

Dean beamed at him, a terrible weight suddenly lifted off his shoulders and his heart swelling with pride at the brave statement. Turned out this kid was a real Winchester after all. "You sure you're up for this?" he asked.

Adam gave him a dubious look. "Well, what was your plan?"

Dean shrugged. "My plan ended at the door, kid."

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

"Crap," Laney gasped, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as the angel disappeared to go after the escaping Sam . "A body. Cas is right. We'll need a body for Adam too. I forgot about a body."

Bobby grimaced, not wanting to say aloud what he currently thought the chances were of actually needing either Sam's or Adam's body. His worried eyes scanned Dean's, still lying unmoving on the couch. Damnit, Dean's body may be breathing for now but things weren't looking good for it to stay that way. Bobby dreaded the thought of having to deal with two soulless Winchesters and shuddered with the realization that he would likely have to kill them himself.

Laney must have deciphered the look on his face for she aimed those piercing blue eyes of hers his way and shook her head. "He'll make it," she assured him. "They all will."

Bobby's reply was interrupted by a jet of black smoke streaming out from the floor between the coffee table and the couch. Laney let out a sharp cry of surprise and tumbled backwards, the force of the wind billowing her hair around her startled face.

Bobby reacted swiftly. He took a quick step backwards and started spouting a Latin exorcism, glad for his decision last year to get a more permanent anti-possession tattoo instead of relying on the more fallible charms. There was no chance the thing could get inside Laney with the insanely over-the-top tats she was now sporting so he didn't worry when the jet of smoke swirled around her before shooting upwards and escaping through the window behind her.

"Damnit," he groused with a frown. "They've found the gate. Won't be long now before more do and once word gets out, they'll be streaming outta here so fast we'll have no choice but to close it."

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Adam led Dean back down the unlit corridor through which he had entered the cage, walking in front with his big brother's hand on his shoulder so they didn't get separated in the total darkness. Dean could hear Sam's screams long before he made out a flickering light around a corner up ahead. He unconsciously tightened his grip on Adam so much the young man groaned and pried his fingers loose.

They reached the end of the corridor and found themselves in a small balcony-type area overlooking a large stone room with a fiery pit in the floor at its center. Suspended in chains above the pit was Sam, his skin blistered and raw from the searing heat beneath him and the hooks ripping at his scorched flesh. Lucifer, looking like the vessel he had been in when Sam had gone to say _'yes'_ only without the peeling skin, was strolling around the perimeter of the pit, a satisfied smile on his face. He didn't seem to notice the two newcomers on the upper level.

It took all the willpower Dean had not to jump down there and come at the angel with both fists swinging. He hauled Adam down into a crouching position behind the corner and squeezed his eyes shut when Sam let out another blood-curdling scream of agony. He would have to wait for his moment. He would have to wait Lucifer out. Surely the dick would get bored at some point and leave, even just for one minute. That was all Dean needed - one minute to cut the chains and free his brother. He clenched his fists as another scream rang out, this one louder than the last.

Dean and Adam stayed as they were for another fifteen minutes, the older hunter's stomach twisting in knots of fury, guilt, and grief as he smelled burning flesh and listened to Sam's voice, broken and desperate, pleading with Lucifer to stop. His pleas just seemed to fuel Lucifer's wrath for they were always followed by another agonized scream. Dean was reaching his breaking point when a smooth, calm voice floated around the corner.

"I thought you would have come charging in by now," Lucifer taunted. "How long are you going to cower back there and listen to your little brother scream, Dean?"

Dean swore. He should have known. It wasn't like he'd ever been able to sneak up on an angel before. The Winchesters were screwed.

He stood up and stepped out, his hand absently shoving Adam back, making sure he stayed hidden.

"Oh, Adam and I are already acquainted," Lucifer smirked. "He's invited too."

Adam got to his feet and came to stand next to Dean, albeit just a smidge behind him. Sam was whimpering in his brief reprieve, clearly not even aware of his big brother's presence.

Lucifer grinned up at them both. "Fresh meat," he quipped. "Perfect timing." He jerked his head towards Sam. "This one's getting a little crispy for my taste." Another tall flame suddenly rose out of the pit, engulfing Sam, who screamed and writhed in pain all over again.

"Let him go!" Dean demanded, rushing down the small set of stairs so he was at the same floor level as Sam's torturer. "Stop! Just let him go."

Lucifer laughed. "Let me guess; you'll stay in his place."

"Well that wasn't exactly gonna be my first suggestion but if the offer's on the table..."

"It's not."

"Well then, why don't us three humans get out of your hair and you and your big brother Michael can have some quality family time."

Lucifer snorted. "Well we might have done just that had your brother not gone and interrupted our little soiree in Kansas and brought the party down here. Now there's no point so it looks like I just have you three to entertain myself with for eternity."

"This is between you two assholes," Dean countered. "Can't you just leave us out of it? After all, you don't even like humans."

"You're right, I don't, but do you have any idea how boring it is down here?" Lucifer's tone was smug and condescending and grated at Dean's every nerve. "No books, no dancing girls, not even HBO. But at least I've got three little mice now to keep me amused."

With that he outstretched his hand towards the hunter and Dean lost all awareness as an excruciating pain suddenly encompassed his entire body. He could feel his every nerve ending exploding in pain and could hear his flesh sizzling and burning in the flames now enveloping him. He fell screaming to the floor for what seemed like a long time, the pain never letting up, never subsiding. He felt a vague wisp of guilt for failing Sam and Adam and a flicker of regret that he would never see Laney again before the pain ripped any further coherent thought from his mind.

After what seemed a long, long time, the pain let up. Dean struggled towards lucidity to find Adam kneeling over him, wild-eyed and frantic. "Dean?" the kid called, clearly not getting a satisfactory response. "Dean?"

"I'm good," Dean managed to rasp, accepting his brother's help to sit up. He was almost upright when the room seemed to shake and he was thrown back into the prone position. He clasped Adam's arm and let the kid pull him up again before looking around the room.

The first thing he noticed was that Sam was no longer suspended over the pit. Looking around frantically he found a slumped, still shape that matched his brother's on the stone floor on the other side of the pit. "Sam!"

He scrambled to his feet, no longer waiting for Adam's help and staggered towards the middle Winchester. Just as he reached him the room shook again and Dean was thrown down to his knees. "What the hell's going on?" he demanded of Adam, who was dropping to one knee on the other side of Sam, his face also full of concern for the battered Winchester.

Dean didn't wait for Adam's reply before turning Sam over, thankful his skin had healed and his clothes were back in one piece, as was customary in Hell once the torture stopped.

"Michael came in," Adam explained. "He demanded Lucifer let you go."

"He did?" Dean hadn't expected that. Maybe Michael wasn't quite the royal dick he'd always taken him for. He tapped Sam's cheek a few times, hoping for a reaction. He got it and Sam's eyes opened, bewildered and frantic, his hands clinging to both his brothers, fisting in the fabric of their shirts. Dean spoke soothingly to him to calm him and gestured for Adam to continue filling him in.

Adam nodded. "Yeah. They argued and Michael said they should settle this once and for all. He said it didn't matter if the victor didn't get the planet or that nobody would ever know who had won the fight. Said it was their destiny to face each other regardless and a bunch of other mumbo." He tucked his arm under Sam's other shoulder and helped Dean haul the largest of the Winchesters up to his feet.

_Wow. Mr. Ego may have actually listened to him, to a lowly human. _

"They're fighting for us," Adam continued as another rumble tore through the structure.

"What?"

"That was the wager. If Michael wins, we all get to leave. If Lucifer wins, he gets to do whatever he likes with us for good with no more interference from Michael."

Dean stared at the youngest Winchester, incredulous. He didn't like their fate resting on Michael's fighting skills. Lucifer was more ruthless, maybe even more determined. Michael had pride and arrogance and righteousness and the big rep upstairs but Lucifer had anger and hate and centuries of pent-up energy, all of which could be powerful motivators and weapons.

"Well I think I like option three the best," he told Adam as they hoisted a slumped Sam between them.

"Option three?"

"Yeah; we slip out the door while they're keeping each other busy."

Just then the side wall blew apart and Michael flew through it, sailing through the air and slamming right through the stone wall on the other side. Lucifer followed on his feet, his face like thunder as he stormed across the room and exited through the hole he had just made in the far wall with his brother.

"Yeah, this is one family spat we don't want to be around for," Dean acknowledged, hoisting Sam higher and heading towards the half-crumbled stairs they had descended when they came in.

Adam didn't argue and directed them back down the dark corridor towards where Dean had entered the cage. Sam was trying to take as much of his own weight as he could but wasn't succeeding very well and had yet to speak.

"I don't remember ever seeing another door down here," Adam said into the darkness when they had been walking for a while.

"Crap," Dean realized out loud. "Concentrate on the door. Think of something topside you want to get back to and the door should present itself."

He immediately thought of Laney, picturing her in his arms that night almost three years ago in Arizona, her blue eyes staring lovingly into his as his fingertips caressed her naked hip, her fast breaths hot on his neck as he nibbled and sucked at her ear...

He barely had time to wonder what Adam had thought of when there it was - the plain wooden door he had seen from the outside. He reached for the handle without hesitation and jerked it open.

Another rumble and an angry roar that pained their ears sounded from behind them so they stepped over the threshold quickly to find themselves standing on the plain on the outside of the temple. The door disappeared behind them and Adam gasped as he looked backwards and caught sight of the magnificent temple.

"Where are we?" he breathed.

"Still in hell." Dean said sharply, looking around to see a couple of demons taking notice of them and coming closer for a better look. "Crap," he mumbled, slipping himself out from under Sam's heavy arm and shuffling all the added weight onto Adam so he could draw Ruby's knife.

He stabbed the first demon who had clearly figured out they were human for she had lunged towards them with an angry snarl. Turning to face the second, he noticed more demons in the background perking their heads up and turning their way. He stabbed the second in the gut and turned to his brothers. "This is about to get ugly - run!"

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Cas winged himself into the passenger seat of the black Dodge Charger. "Where are you going, Sam?"

The driver startled but maintained full control of the car through his surprise. "Go away, Cas. This is none of your business. Don't you have a war upstairs to fight?"

"My friends need me right now."

"Well I'm not your friend so leave me alone."

"You are my friend, Sam. You should know that Dean has retrieved Laney from hell."

"_What!__?_ How'd he do that?"

"He went in after her. And then he went back for you. So you see, you need to come back to Bobby's so we can put your soul back in your body once he retrieves it."

Sam snorted. "He'll never make it back out! Even if he finds the cage, which is doubtful, it's in the deepest corner of hell. He won't ever make it back to the gate I made for Laney with both me and Adam."

Cas furrowed his brow and cocked his head at Sam. "You are right." With that he disappeared, only to reappear five minutes and five miles later with a satisfied look on his face.

"Now Dean will make it out," he announced.

"What did you do?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"I have seen to it that he will make it safely back to the gate," was the angel's cryptic answer. "So I must bring you back to Bobby's."

He reached his hand out and touched the soulless man's shoulder, making them both disappear in a blink. The Charger coasted forward on the road for a few seconds before veering slightly right and eventually careening into the grassy ditch at the side of the road.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Miraculously, the brothers managed to escape the multitude of demons on the plain. Dean had stabbed any who had come too close with Ruby's knife and as they ran, the scenery around them morphed time and time again into so many different places that eventually, they lost their pursuers. On the bad side, however, Dean was fairly certain the alarm had been raised and their presence would be known throughout the underworld. Pretty much every demon in the place would be on high alert by now so they were pretty much screwed - again.

As they pressed on, it occurred to Dean that it was not a good sign Sam didn't seem to be fully recovering from his time with Lucifer. Physically, he looked fine. The wounds and the scorched skin all appeared to be healed, but he lacked strength and from time to time he would shudder and shake and his eyes would roll back in his head for a few seconds, causing Adam to stagger under his full weight. This could only mean one thing - Sam's actual soul had been damaged. That was why he wasn't healing fully like Laney had. The pain Lucifer had inflicted had pierced so deeply that Sam's actual soul remained tattered and scarred.

They were making their way through a series of large but empty torture chambers and Dean was on point with Ruby's knife held ready while Adam followed behind with Sam leaning heavily on his shoulder. It was obvious Adam was scared but Dean had to give the teenager credit; he followed Dean's every order without question and never once put Sam down or complained.

It was a couple of hours before Dean admitted they were completely lost. He had been concentrating on Laney, figuring the connection to her Cas that had spoken of would lead him back to the gate but every time he saw something that could be considered a road to follow, it led to somewhere teeming with demons or out into the open where they would surely be spotted and captured. If he couldn't follow the road, he wouldn't be able to get them back before the gate was either discovered or its magic faded.

"Well fancy meeting you here," came a man's voice in a English accent from behind him, startling the hunter out of his dark thoughts. Dean spun around to find Crowley standing there with a smug grin on his face.

The hunter just groaned and cursed under his breath, remembering Crowley's claim to be 'King of Hell'. He hadn't thought it was possible for things to get any worse.

"Well, don't just stand there twiddling your thumbs," Crowley rolled his eyes. "Follow me."

Dean snorted. "You're kidding, right?"

The demon shrugged. "Suit yourself then. If you don't want my help..."

"Why would you help us?"

The smirk reappeared on Crowley's face. "Why don't you let me worry about the particulars, huh Don Quixote? All you have to know is that you need out of here and with my help is the only way that's going to happen. King of Hell, remember."

"You haven't answered the question."

Crowley sighed in annoyance and snapped his fingers. A hellhound the size of a small horse trotted into the chamber from behind him, coming to stand next to its master. Here in hell, Dean could see the hound plain as day and figured Adam could as well from the chortled gasp the young man let out at its arrival.

"You remember Growly, don't you?" the demon smirked, patting the huge beast fondly. "See, if I wanted you dead or captured, you already would be. Let's just say I've made a deal and my end of the bargain is to see that you three make it back to your pitifully dull lives upstairs in one piece. I always keep up my end of a deal so..." He clapped his hands. "Let's get a move on shall we?"

Every fiber of Dean's being told him he couldn't trust Crowley any further than he could throw him but he really had no choice at this point. He only hoped someone topside hadn't sold their soul to the demon in exchange for this favor. Crowley already had Bobby's soul and Cas didn't have one to sell so that only left Laney...

_God, please, no._

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Another demon had just escaped through the gate in a column of angry black smoke when Cas reappeared in the study holding Sam by the shirtcollar. The angel gave the hunter a rough shove, forcing him down into the armchair and turned to Bobby.

"How many demons have come through?"

"Five," Bobby grimaced, knowing any damage or harm that came to anyone at the hand of those demons was squarely on their shoulders. He couldn't paint a devil's trap around the spell area for that would cancel out the magic and lock the gate and he and Laney couldn't fight the demons in their smoke form so they had simply been letting them out, making the excuse every time that Dean would be back soon and that would surely be the last one.

Cas cocked his head, a look of concentration crossing his face. "He is not back yet," he announced. "He is not back to the gate."

"We're not closing it," Laney spoke up, her voice both guilty and adamant at the same time.

"No," Cas agreed. "They will be here soon." He waved a hand and Sam was suddenly bound by ropes wrapped around his arms, torso and legs. "Don't let him leave," the angel said before disappearing once more.

Laney and Bobby barely had time to give each other bewildered looks before the angel reappeared with a man slumped over his shoulder. He lowered the body to the floor and Laney cried out loud and dashed over when she saw it was Adam. He was clean and whole but cold to the touch and she discovered quickly he wasn't breathing.

"I won't bring him back unless Dean retrieves his soul," Cas told her bluntly, answering her questioning glance.

"Where was he?" she managed, a lump forming in her throat at the sight of her only family, even if he was still dead.

"Below the ground at Stull Cemetery," Cas explained. "Only his soul was taken to Hell. I have restored him physically but will not give him life again until Dean returns."

Laney sat herself on the floor next to Adam's body. "You know, for an angel, you're pretty handy to have around, Cas," she smiled up at him.

Cas returned the smile, finding he liked that he was helping and his help was being appreciated. It was a welcome break from the losing war he was fighting in Heaven.

"Handy my ass," Sam grumbled. "Just wait 'til he turns on you like he did to me and Dean. I like how everyone conveniently forgets that Cas could have stopped Lucifer from rising but he didn't. He's more to blame for the whole thing than I ever was. I didn't _know_ Lilith was the last seal when I killed her."

"Nobody ever hung on to blaming you, son," Bobby pointed out. "And we ain't never forgotten it was you who took Lucifer down in the end."

"Well if you're so appreciative, why don't you leave me alone?" Sam snapped. "I'm fine the way I am. Leave me and my unwanted soul out of this."

Laney narrowed her eyes at him. "You're not fine. You sent me to hell!"

"Well, you're trying to stuff hell right down my throat so I guess we're even then," Sam countered.

"You were going to send Bobby there too. He's like a dad to you and Dean."

Sam shook his head. "I was just going to kill him," he said coldly. "It was Crowley who was going to drag him downstairs. Bobby's deal wasn't my doing."

None of the three humans noticed Cas's stance stiffen at the mention of Crowley and their attention was snatched an instant later by another stream of black smoke funnelling furiously out of the floor in the spell area. Cas stepped forward instantly and held a hand outstretched before him. The black smoke swirled and clawed upwards but was effectively pushed back down into the floor.

Cas frowned at Bobby and Laney. "This shouldn't be taking so long," he mumbled before his eyes widened and his stare once again grew distant. "Never mind; they're here."

He flickered out of sight and within seconds, reappeared for a single heartbeat before disappearing again. Adam immediately gasped for air and sat up, his eyes wild and streaming light and his limbs flailing. Laney cried out from where she sat next to him and threw her arms around his neck. "Adam! Adam, you're alive. Oh my God; you're alive!" Her voice broke into a sob and the teenager soon calmed and wrapped his own arms back around her, whispering her name hoarsely in her ear.

Bobby watched the emotional scene and glanced nervously back at Sam then Dean, neither of whom showed any signs of change. Then Cas showed up again, stumbling and swaying on his feet for a second before he once more disappeared.

Sam's eyes shot open, the white light shooting out of them for a split second before he started gulping in deep breaths of air from where he sat still tied to the chair. He whimpered and cried out frantically, jerking away when Bobby reached his side and immediately starting to twist and wriggle in an attempt to free himself from the ropes.

"Sam?" Bobby questioned, his heart thumping wildly as he tried to decipher if it was soulless Sam playing another trick on them or if his boy had returned. He hadn't missed the light in the eyes; presumably that was the soul returning. "Sam?"

"He's hurt," Adam informed them, released from Laney's grasp when she had turned to see what was happening and had scrambled to her feet to come and help Bobby. "Untie him. You have to untie him," he added.

That was all Bobby needed to hear for he immediately pulled out his knife and started to cut through the ropes. Sam was still panting and gasping and his eyes were darting around wildly before they rolled white and his head slumped forward, his body sagging into the rope bonds not yet cut. Bobby lifted the young hunter's head up to find he had passed out completely.

The older man was still working on cutting the ropes when Laney turned to look at Dean. He still wasn't moving. "Adam, what about Dean?" she asked, her voice quivering with dread.

"He was right behind us," Adam told her with a shrug.

Cas reappeared for the third consecutive time and promptly fell to his knees on the floor, his breath ragged and his chest heaving with exertion. Apparently raising people from perdition was strenuous work for he looked wiped. Dean suddenly gulped in a huge mouthful of air and his body jerked and flailed, causing him to roll off the couch and hit the floor with a thump. Laney ran to his side, practically yanking him around to face her as her eyes searched for signs he was okay.

Dean's lip curled up at one end in a cocky smile at the sight of her fretting over him. "Hey Laney," he uttered hoarsely. "Told you I wouldn't die." She pressed her hands to either side of his face, staring into his eyes with a rush of relief and for a moment, Dean thought he was going to get a kiss but she just grinned at him and turned to look over at Bobby, who had his fingers pressed against Sam's neck.

"He okay?" she asked, drawing Dean's attention to his brother.

"Sam?" Dean ventured, accepting Laney's help back up off the floor. Sam had yet to speak since they had left Lucifer's cage and Dean's concern was growing.

"He's alright." Bobby nodded and stood up, his hands on his hips as he looked around. "He's just sleeping it off," he said confidently. "How bout you, Cas?"

The angel was pushing himself to his feet. "I'll be fine."

"Well..." Bobby shook his head in disbelief as he took in the shaken-but-alive status of everyone in the room. A huge grin spread across his bearded face and there was a definite gleam in his kind, brown eyes. "Ain't ya'll a sight for sore eyes."

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**_A/N: _**_Sorry this took so long to post – this little thing called Christmas got in my way. I hope you all had a good one and all the best to ALL OF YOU for the New Year! I put the ending in as an epilogue but I'm posting it at the same time as this. I hope you liked this chap and especially hope you like the ending! *fingers crossed*_


	12. PART 5 Chapter 12

_**A/N:** I posted two chapters at once so make sure you read the last chapter also :-)_

_A HUGE thank-you to everyone who read and alerted and reviewed this story – I really enjoyed hearing what you all thought and each and every one meant a lot to me. You guys have been so encouraging and I hope you all have the best year EVER in 2012!_

**EPILOGUE**

It was thirty hours before Sam awoke without screaming and two and a half days before he managed to stay awake for more than a few minutes. On the first night, after Dean received a black eye trying to shake him out of a particularly violent flashback dream, Bobby suggested they put the tormented hunter in the panic room until they could be sure he wasn't going to wake up completely "FUBAR". Dean had barely left his brother's bedside for the three days since and now found himself sitting in Bobby's uncomfortable desk chair in the underground bunker with Adam slouched in the old leather armchair nearby.

He was touched by the level of concern Adam was showing for Sam. The kid hovered over him almost as much as Dean did and whenever he wasn't with Laney, he was usually down here. Dean took the opportunity to get to know his youngest brother better and decided he was a good kid. The eldest Winchester had been sharing some of his wisdom on the art of picking up women and was enjoying the look of adulation he was getting at the recounting of some of his more outrageous exploits when Sam suddenly grew restless in his sleep. Before Dean could approach the bed, however, Adam was at Sam's side, his hand on his shoulder speaking soothing words of comfort. Dean sat back and watched, not sure if he was pleased or a little jealous.

"You guys spend a lot of time together down there?" he asked quietly when Sam had settled down.

Adam shook his head. "No actually. None at all. But..." he swallowed. "Sometimes Michael would be in one of his moods and would storm off somewhere and Lucifer would start in on me." He bit his lip and looked down at Sam, who was once again sleeping soundly. "Sam would mouth off to him and goad him until Lucifer turned his wrath back on him. He protected me every time. Even though he had it so much worse, he..." He let the sentence trail off, his point clearly made.

Dean nodded, full of understanding for Sam's actions. "That's what big brother's do, kid," he smiled. A soft clomp of boots that Dean recognized as Laney's sounded on the stairs. "And big sisters," he added with a grin as she appeared in the doorway.

Laney gave each of them a smile as she entered the panic room and Dean couldn't help think how incredibly pretty she was when she smiled. He had also noticed she had been doing a lot more of that the past three days. He had barely spent five minutes alone with her since their trip to hell but if he was being honest, he hadn't made any serious effort to do so either. He had avoided any serious conversation with her about them, or even if there was a them. At first it had been because he had been concentrating on Sam and then because he wasn't sure how to approach the subject. After all, he had just left Lisa a few days ago. Then there was the fact that he was just plain chickenshit. When Laney had been sent to hell, Dean had realized just how much he was in love with her and it scared him to death because loving that hard and that completely had always brought him pain in the past and he kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Six months ago he had lost everything and now Lucifer was gone, the world was fine, his brother was back, his _**other**_ brother was back, and he and Laney were here with no secrets and nothing standing in their way ... things just didn't get this good for Dean Winchester.

_Did they?_

Well if they didn't, the people he cared about were making a damn good effort at convincing him they did. Laney settled in on the end of Sam's bed and within two hours, Adam finally agreed to let Bobby acquire a fake name and fake transcripts for him and start attending the Pre-med program at the University of Iowa in January. Laney figured the money she had left over from the sale of the Milligan house would pay for a chunk of it and she swore she would come up with the rest since she had spent the rest of Adam's inheritance, even if some of it had been in desperate attempts to get him out of hell.

Adam had wanted to be a doctor before the ghouls had killed him and Dean was surprised, relieved, and overjoyed all at once that he still wanted to follow that dream after all he had been through. He had half expected the kid would want to take up hunting and throw away any chance he had at normalcy. Laney agreed they would teach him the basics of hunting, just enough to protect himself, and Adam joked that having a doctor in a family of hunters could prove to be useful. He even requested that his new name be Adam Winchester and Dean finally understood without a doubt why his father had kept Adam hidden from this life and from them. Watching his new brother plan his normal, safe future was like being given a second chance to do things right, like they were all getting a do-over through Adam.

As if that wasn't a pleasant enough turn of events, Sam awoke peacefully and sat up, lucid enough to join the conversation and he quickly offered his little brother his Dodge Charger.

"Won't you be using it?" Adam asked, slack-jawed and squirming in his seat with excitement. Bobby had towed it back from the ditch Cas had left it in and had deemed it fixable.

Sam shook his head. "Nah, I'll be riding with Dean," he said. "In the Impala."

Dean grinned and cracked another beer, a pleasant warmth spreading through his insides.

_Yeah, things were looking pretty damn good for Dean Winchester._ He glanced over at Laney, who caught his eye and smiled back at him. _Almost perfect, in fact._

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

By the fourth day, Sam was on his feet and even joined everyone upstairs for a pizza lunch. He was quiet and tense but Dean's subtle scrutiny didn't reveal anything too alarming – nothing more than could be expected anyway – and Dean finally allowed himself to relax enough to head out and check on the Impala. He was in the process of doing a complete inventory of the trunk, polishing and cleaning each weapon for the first time in months, when Cas showed up behind him.

"How is Sam?" was the angel's deep-voiced greeting.

Dean jumped and spun around. "Jeez, Cas! Still with the creeping up on people?"

"My apologies."

The hunter relaxed and smiled at his old friend as he gave him a friendly thump on the shoulder. "S'alright." The angel had left soon after bringing everyone back from hell and hadn't made an appearance since and Dean had begun to get worried. "Dude, its good to see you. I owe you the biggest thanks, uh...ever."

Cas just nodded.

"No, seriously," Dean stressed. "Thank-you. If it wasn't for you I'd be screwed and..." he gestured towards the house, "They'd all be screwed."

"You're welcome," Cas acknowledged. "I am pleased you are all safe. How is Sam?" He repeated his opening question.

"Souled-up and ... " Dean searched for the right word. "Coping."

Cas nodded but stayed silent and Dean couldn't help but think he looked stressed. He leaned back on the rim of the Impala's trunk and folded his arms across his chest. "You know who guided us back to the gate?" he asked, fishing for a reaction. "Crowley."

"I am aware."

The hunter raised a curious eyebrow. "You wanna fill me in, Cas?"

Cas let out a deep sigh. "I need your advice, Dean. I have made a deal and I am not sure it was a wise one."

"Damnit Cas," Dean swore. "I already don't like the sound of this. Okay, spill."

_**Four days ago...**_

_When soulless Sam had scoffed that Dean wouldn't make it back to the gate with both Sam and Adam in tow, Cas had known he was right. Fortunately, he just happened to have a convenient, albeit aggravating, relationship with the one demon who could help. He winged himself out of the car and found Crowley within two minutes. _

"_I need your help," he stated bluntly. "Go and get the Winchesters out of hell."_

_Crowley's grin was even more smug than usual and Cas knew the demon had figured out he held all the cards. "Hold on there, Zippy," he smirked. "Getting out of hell is a little difficult. If it was easy, we'd all be topside."_

"_I don't have time for your games," Cas barked. "You were but a simple crossroads demon and now you're the king of hell. You don't become that without having an advantage. You come and go from hell as you please so it stands to reason you have your own gate, one only you are privvy to. It's how you managed to take over. Now you will use it and go help Dean Winchester."_

"_Not unless there's something in it for me, lovey."_

_The angel practically snarled at him. "Fine. I will help you find purgatory."_

"_I hate to say I told you so but I knew you'd agree eventually," the demon gloated, nodding his head in acceptance. _

"_Just go get them quickly," Cas said and was about to leave when Crowley held up a hand to stop him. _

"_Nuh-unh, Hot Wings," he said, wrapping his fist in the front of Cas's shirt. ""You gotta seal a deal." With that, he pulled the angel in for a kiss, crashing their lips together with surprising force. Cas's eyes widened and he was stunned into compliance for what seemed like a very long and uncomfortable moment. Before he could pull away, however, Crowley broke the kiss and stepped back with a cocky grin. _

"_I am an angel," Cas stammered. "I have no soul to trade and you need my vessel's permission to lay claim to his and he did not give it. There was no need for ... that."_

_Crowley winked at him and laughed. "I know," he said bluntly. "Can't blame a bloke for wanting a little taste now, can you?" He raised a lewd eyebrow. "And speaking of, Casanova, you need to work on your skills. It's a tongue, not a fly swatter."_

_The demon disappeared, leaving Cas flustered and uncomfortable as he winged himself back into Sam's car. _

_**Present...**_

Cas explained the current situation in heaven to Dean. He explained that he was losing the war to Raphael and that the Apocalypse would surely be set in motion all over again if he didn't stop the far-more-powerful archangel. He explained the offer Crowley had made and that he had refused the demon until four days ago when he had accepted the deal in exchange for Crowley's help getting the Winchesters out of hell. He left out the part about the kiss.

"Crap, Cas," Dean grimaced, not liking the idea of tampering with monster souls in Purgatory. "Can an angel be bound by a crossroads deal?"

The angel shook his head but Dean didn't miss the averted eyes and shuffling of his feet.

"You sure?" he pressed. "There's no contract?"

"No," Cas assured him. "I have no soul to trade."

"Good," Dean breathed. "Coz you're not keeping that deal."

"And how then do I stop Raphael?" Cas demanded wearily.

"I dunno yet," Dean admitted. "But we'll figure something out. Trust me, Cas. Pugatory and demon deals is not the way to go. We've taken down Lucifer and Michael and some other pretty big fish when the odds were more than stacked against us. We can figure something out, just please, trust me."

Cas pursed his lips and frowned as he held the hunter's gaze. Finally he nodded, still worried but thankful to have his friend back. He would trust Dean.

"Just give me a couple of days to get things in order," Dean continued. "I wanna teach Adam a few things and I gotta keep an eye on Sam, make sure he's alright."

Cas nodded in agreement but gave Dean a curious look. "And Laney?"

Dean rubbed the back of his neck and let out a groan, knowing exactly what Cas was referring to. "Yeah, I know," he sighed. "I know but I'm just not sure..."

"Not sure of what?" Cas pressed. "You've had strong feelings for her most of your life. I don't understand how you are still not romantically involved. You are not known to be cautious or hesitant around women."

The hunter arched a surprised eyebrow at his friend's boldness and chuckled. "It's complicated," he shared, for once allowing the personal intrusion. "You know, Cas, I've been with a lot of women but with every one of them there was always something missing. Even with the ones that weren't just random hookups or one night stands. I think a lot of that is because of her…because they weren't her."

Cas cocked his head and gave him a confused look. "Then why didn't you just be with her?"

"There's always been something in the way," Dean explained. "First Lilith had my contract and it seemed cruel to make something of it if I was going to die. Next time I saw her we were a couple of weeks away from letting Lucifer out of the cage and I didn't want to drag her into that. Then she disappeared off the map and I couldn't find her when Sam died and…well then I was with Lisa."

"So what's in your way now?"

Dean snorted. "Nothing. I'm a coward is what it is." He gave Cas a sheepish look. "You were right. What you said before about me and being happy. I still don't know if I deserve it or not but I'll be honest, it scares me. I'm scared it'll all get ripped away."

"I think you should at least try," Cas said solemnly. "I for one would like to see you happy, Dean."

Dean pushed himself off the Impala, feeling a little awkward at the turn the conversation had taken and at Cas's open admission. "Thanks, dude," he managed, knowing the angel was being sincere. "And you know what? You're right."

"Well here's your chance," Cas announced, "For she is coming now. I shall take my leave."

He disappeared before Dean could say goodbye and the hunter looked past where the angel had been standing to see Laney approaching from the house.

"Here goes nothing," he mumbled under his breath, then added "I can't believe I'm taking advice on women from a virgin."

Laney smiled as she came to stand next to him, peering into the Impala's trunk. "Feel good to have your baby back on the road?"

"Yes. Definitely yes," Dean answered truthfully. There was a silence that extended just a heartbeat past comfortable as they both stood there staring at each other. "Uhh, how's Sam doing?" he asked a little nervously.

"He's good. Him and Bobby are teaching Adam the basics of exorcisms."

"And you? How are you doing?"

She smiled and leaned back against the car. "You need to stop asking me that."

"What? Can't a guy worry?"

"What I mean is you need to stop thinking of me as your responsibility." She was still smiling but her expression was serious.

"Uh, not sure what you're getting at."

She bit her lower lip for a second before answering. "It's something you said in hell. You said you needed to take care of me. That you didn't before and that for once you needed to."

Dean nodded, remembering the conversation vividly. "I was just trying to get you to stop being so damn stubborn and go with Cas," he grinned.

A chuckle rolled through her shoulders before she reached out and touched his arm "You don't still think you failed me in some way back when we were kids, do you?" she asked more quietly.

Dean let out an uncomfortable breath. "I did," he admitted. "Until that moment, I did. See, usually I like to save the beautiful maiden but with you, I never seem..."

"You think you never saved me?" She gave him a look of incredulity. "Dean, all you've _**ever**_ done is save me! Again and again. It's actually kind of embarrassing. I'm like a chronic damsel in distress around you. And I don't do the damsel in distress thing…"

He cut her off by pressing his lips against hers, his hands coming up to cup her face. He had always been able to express himself better through actions than words. He waited until he got a reaction before moving his mouth on hers and deepening the kiss. "I like damsels in distress," he breathed, finally withdrawing for air. "They're usually grateful."

"Oh yeah?" she giggled between her returned kisses. "And how would one of these damsels express her gratitude?"

His eyebrow waggled at her lewdly. "Well you're off to a good start," he assured her before dipping in for another lengthy kiss, his hands gliding down to her waist and lifting her onto the trunk of the car. Within seconds he felt her arms slide around him and before he knew it, he was being drawn up into the same all-encompassing intimacy that he had felt that one night they had spent together, the night he had never forgotten.

"You know what's weird?" she whispered breathlessly when he broke the kiss to catch his own breath.

"What's that?" he asked, moving to nibble on her ear.

"I feel like I know you better than I know anyone else in the world, except maybe Adam," she told him, "But in fact, I really don't know anything about you."

Dean laughed. It was true. He felt the same way. They hadn't spent a lot of time together in the two decades they had known each other, but he realized he was looking forward to discovering all the little things about Laney he didn't yet know. Her quirks and her secrets and even her flaws.

"Well I'm an Aquarius," he said, kissing her neck and enjoying the quivering sensation of her laugh on his lips. "I like classic rock, classic cars, and cheeseburgers." He moved to her collarbone, brushing her shirt gently to the side. "I hate doing laundry. I usually avoid politics but would have voted for Obama if I had been legally alive at the time…" He moved back up to her lips and his voice grew husky. "Oh, and I like porn."

She laughed into his mouth and the hand on the back of his neck pulled him closer. "What do you say we leave some things open for discovery?"

He let his own hands slide up her thighs as he pressed himself against her and kissed her again. He could hardly believe this was happening and could feel himself getting swept away in the moment. It was as if he couldn't get enough of her. The fading light of dusk and the cool air in Bobby's yard melted away around him and she filled his every sense. Damn – this felt so right.

"Laney, I love you," he blurted without warning, pulling back to rest their foreheads together and lock his eyes on hers.

There – he had said it. For the first time in his life, he had completely put his heart on the table, opened himself up to the possibility of true happiness.

Laney's heart literally skipped a beat at the sound of those words coming from Dean's mouth. Had she just heard that right? Could this really be happening?

She opened her eyes to connect with his and was floored by what she saw. There he was - her protector, her saviour, looking so vulnerable and scared, his heart now held entirely in her hands. She had never heard those words spoken to her before and to hear them now, coming from Dean, _**her**_ Dean, was overwhelming. She struggled for the right words but none came.

Dean kept his eyes locked on hers for what seemed like a long time, his heartbeat thumping loudly in his chest, before he finally let out an uncomfortable huff of chuckle.

"I was kinda hoping for a response..." he smiled nervously.

Laney snapped out of it and managed a laugh. She tilted her head and leaned towards him, her mouth finding his for a long, slow kiss before pulling away to whisper in his ear. "Dean, I've loved you since I was ten years old." Her hand instinctively reached for the locket around her neck, tugging it out of her shirt and her fingers wapping around it. His eyes followed hers as she glanced down to look at the inscription. "Forever yours, remember?" she smiled tenderly, giving him a look that unmistakably told him how she felt.

His reply was another kiss but this one was anything but light or gentle. His fingers wrapped themselves in her hair behind her neck and his mouth practically devoured hers as he pulled her towards him. She was startled by his sudden vigor but the passion behind his kiss wiped away any coherent thoughts.

"I have a confession to make," she panted when his hand slid inside her jacket up under the hem of her shirt.

"What's that?" he answered without stopping what he was doing with his mouth nor his hands.

She arched upwards slightly towards him and hooked her legs behind him. "I like porn too," she whispered in his ear.

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

Bobby grinned across the table at the latest addition to his brood. Adam was a quick learner and was picking up the Latin as quickly as Sam had as a child. Dean's strong suit had always been the weaponry and the fighting but Adam was more like the taller of his brothers and had a knack for the lore and the languages.

The older man glanced over at Sam, who was sitting at the kitchen table with them but hadn't joined in the lesson. He had been quiet the whole time, sitting watching them with a far away look in his eye, his jaw clenched tight with restraint of something. Bobby had to admit the young hunter was doing well with all things considered, but he was clearly struggling with some inner turmoil and the older man's heart bled for him as he watched the struggle played out on Sam's face. He wished there was something more he could do for him.

"You want another coffee?" he offered, feeling utterly helpless.

"I'll get it," Adam offered quickly, springing to his feet and heading to the stove where the pot was still brewing, its contents likely nothing more than a black sludge by now.

Bobby grunted his approval. The kid sure did seem concerned about Sam. He was a bit of a complainer, griping constantly about Bobby not having an X-box or even a Playstation in the house, but that was exactly like Dean when he was seventeen. Actually, it was exactly like Dean now, Bobby realized with a silent chuckle.

"Ewww!" came a startled cry from the window at the back of the kitchen where Adam was standing, staring at something outside. "I think I'm gonna hurl!"

Both Bobby and Sam jerked their heads up and came over quickly. "What is it?" Bobby asked, his hunter's instincts kicking in and his shoulders tensing.

"My brother's out there making out with my sister!" was the disgusted reply.

They all directed their gazes out the window to see Dean standing behind the Impala with Laney perched on the trunk, one leg on either side of him and their lips locked together in what appeared to be quite the passionate kiss. Bobby couldn't help but grin. "'Bout time," he muttered, pulling his eyes away to glance over at Sam.

Sam was smiling. It was a weary smile but genuine, and it was the first smile Bobby had seen on the kid's face since getting his soul stuffed back inside. It was a fond smile, peaceful and full of love for his big brother.

He glanced back out the window just in time to catch Dean's hand slip inside the girl's jacket, clearly heading for a breast and all the onlookers quickly turned away, jerking their heads back round towards the kitchen. Sam cleared his throat but kept smiling and headed slowly back to his chair.

Adam wrinkled up his nose but grinned as he spoke. "Now that is just so wrong!" he griped to Bobby.

Bobby chuckled and gave the teenager a friendly slap on the back.

"Something tells me you'd better get used to it, kid."

_**The End**_

**~x~x~x~x~x~**

_**A/N**: So that was my attempt at a love story :-) I left it open-ended so you can use your imagination to decide how they deal with Raphael and Crowley etc... After all, there's never a happily-ever-after for a Winchester! :-)_

_Please review to let me know if you enjoyed it! :-)_


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